Lululemon Leans into Member Perks

From athleisure to HVLP operators, brands are partnering with wellness-adjacent companies to elevate their membership offerings

From experiential events to membership perks, brands are discovering that a little bit goes a long way in generating buzz and creating loyal customers — especially with Gen Z, who love wellness , a good deal, and an exclusive invite to a social-media-worthy event.

And athleisure giant Lululemon is paying attention, bolstering its complimentary membership program with special members–only perks in “move,” “fuel” and “restore” categories, which were announced last month on social media .

It’s the latest move from the brand designed to generate enthusiasm, having recently cut its full-year guidance due partly to slumping sales in the women’s category and a disastrous Breezethrough leggings launch that resulted in Lulu pulling the new leggings from the market to retool its design.

As part of its go-forward strategy, Lululemon CEO Calvin McDonald recently told investors that increasing brand awareness remains a priority, highlighting a successful and exclusive members-only weekend held at Peloton Studios in New York City earlier this summer, featuring live classes and a 5K run.

McDonald pointed to some of Lulu’s newest partnerships, noting that early feedback has been “very positive” for its member partner perks program, which sees Lululemon teaming with 12 brands to offer special discounts and offers.

“These strategies illustrate just a few of the ways we engage with our guests beyond a simple purchase transaction by offering exclusive experiences and benefits and helping them feel their best, all of which drives and deepens loyalty,” McDonald said.

A statement on the athleisure brand’s website explains that partners were carefully selected based on their ability to enhance members’ daily lives and offer products or services that support well-being.

Lululemon’s partner perks range from fitness to wellness and include a bevy of trendy, well-known brands:

• AG1 – 10 free travel packs, a welcome kit and a special All Day Essentials Belt Bag
• Barry’s – 10% off any single-class pack
• ClassPass – a free, one-month trial with 53 credits
• Erewhon – 15% off one order
• Hyperice – 20% off the Hypervolt Go 2, and 15% off all other products
• La La Land – 50% off the Lulu Latte
• Life Time – no specific deal is mentioned yet; for now, there is just an option to learn more about the premium fitness country club operator
• Methodology – 25% off your first order, and then 15% off orders
• Oura – six months of an Oura membership
• Peloton – 60 day free trial to Peloton App or App+
• Supergoop – 10% off on the first three orders
• Sweetgreen – $5 off the first purchase

Will Perks Pay Off?

Earlier this year, boutique fitness brand Solidcore announced Core Collective, a program that includes exclusive perks for members from brand partners such as Liquid I.V., Milk Makeup, Daily Harvest , Celsius , Care/of and Heyday.

24 Hour Fitness recently launched FitPerks , where members of the fitness chain can earn points from activities such as classes, coaching or check-ins on the 24 Hour Fitness app . The points can be redeemed for partner discounts on gym merchandise, local restaurants, concerts and sports tickets, hotels and resorts.

“We want to build as much motivation into using the gym as we possibly can and having an incentive structure is a great way to give that nudge we all need,” 24 Hour Fitness chief technology and digital officer Debbie Fiorella said. “Our members are at the heart of everything we do, and this program is designed to reward them for their hard work and commitment towards their fitness goals.”

High-value, low-priced (HVLP) fitness chain Crunch Fitness has also developed an extensive perks program for its members across a variety of categories. Meanwhile, Planet Fitness continues to add to its members-only deals with its PF Perks Program. The fitness franchisor returned its PerksFest earlier this summer with deals for Headspace, Crocs, Garmin, GNC and more.

New Planet Fitness CEO Colleen Keating referenced the perks program and its ongoing success during the fitness franchisor’s Q2 earnings call last month.

“One of the other things, I think, that’s relevant in the hospitality background versus what we’re endeavoring to do at Planet Fitness is the opportunity to extend the experience outside the four walls of the club through our app, through loyalty programs and partnerships and even our perks program,” Keating said. “We just had a great month in June with perks utilization. So, there’s an opportunity for us to really leverage our very broad membership base and our high app utilization through partnerships and bringing additional offerings to our members that they value even outside the four walls of the gym.”

Member discounts aren’t reserved just for cost-sensitive consumers – last year, Equinox unveiled a new-level membership program, Equinox Circle , offering deals on helicopter commutes, a dedicated concierge for purchasing luxury watches and more.

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