1.1 Definition and presentation

Sports apps can be defined as applications that can be downloaded to any mobile device (e.g., smartphones or tablets) that are directed toward the well-being and fitness of users. The market for sports apps can be distinguished into different sub-segments depending on the activities and/or tools provided - e.g., tracking apps, workout apps.

The market is relatively young, as it appeared only with the emergence of the first smartphones and app developers-so it is less than a decade old-but since then it has grown exponentially. Globally, increased use of mobile devices and growing health awareness are becoming driving forces. The market is expected to grow by nearly 50 percent per year over the next four years.

The Italian sports app market is following the booming trend, but it still remains quite distant from the growth trends shown globally or in Europe. Demand is growing, especially for specific population clusters-for example, Millennials, women, and Generation Z-in fact, in 2019 sports app usage was found to be around 40 percent, 28 percent, and 27 percent, respectively. The changing landscape in 2020, however, saw an increase in sports app downloads among women of +40%. However, sports apps face a notable threat identified in their traditional alternative, or sometimes complement: outdoor and indoor gyms, which continue to capture the interest and resulting market share of most "sporty" Italians. The Italian landscape for mobile sports apps is highly fragmented counting a number of small international players, multinationals and recently also a growing number of domestic startups.

1.2 A booming global market

According to Hootsuite, the number of smartphone users worldwide will stand at *.** billion at the beginning of ****, an increase of nearly * percent from the previous year and a penetration rate of ** percent. In Europe, there are nearly *.* billion mobile subscriptions.

According to a study conducted by Stock Apps, the global sports ...

1.3 The Italian market

According to Data Reportal, as of January ****, there were **.** million Internet users in Italy with an Internet penetration rate of**.*% of the total population at the beginning of ****.

The Kepios analysis indicates that Internet users in Italy increased by *** thousand(***) between **** and ****.

As for fitness apps, these grossed ** million in Italy ...

1.4 The strong impact of Covid-19 on the market

In March ****, the lockdown meant not only severe restrictions on outdoor travel, but also the closure of all public places, including gyms. Thus, to exercise, people had no choice but to work out at home or run within the * km radius allowed.

As a result of the restrictions and closures imposed, ...

2.1 The practice of sports in Italy

About ** million Italians participate in sports. Of these, according to the Eurobarometer, it is mainly freelancers and managers who do the most sports while the tendency to engage in physical activity decreases with increasing age. In Italy:

** percent of men and ** percent of women over ** do not play sports; between ...

2.2 The Use of Sport Applications in Italy

As seen, the use of sports apps in Italy is rising sharply, driven in part by the increase in sports practice.

IPSOS conducted a study of the main European and American markets to analyze consumption habits related to sports apps. It found that about ** percent of Italians have used an app ...

2.3 The development of connected devices

The Anglo-Saxon term "wearable" is used to define all those wearable technological devices that measure and monitor a person's sports performance. By means of sensors, connected to the athlete, they transmit a series of data that allow monitoring one's performance, state of health, fatigue, stress and general performance through the use ...

3.1 Market organization and dynamics

There are three main categories of players in the market:

Large sports equipment companies that have developed their own app (***). Companies that specialize in developing a sports app (***). Actors who are absent from the sports industry and are trying to enter the market in another way (***).

Several types can be distinguishedamong ...

3.2 The main sports applications

The supply of applications is very wide in Italy, and their use is increasingly widespread. The main sports applications in Italy, by number of downloads and usage are :

Nike Training Club (***)

It is one of the most popular apps, developed by Nike, suggests *** free workouts differently focused on arms, legs, abs ...

3.3 The main Italian applications

Sport-related applications are also increasingly being developed in Italy. As many as * Italian startups that have invested "in sports innovation" have entered the SpinLap program, the first European sports-tech acceleration program born from the collaboration between the Israeli network Hype-Sports Innovation, Trentino Sviluppo and the University of Trento. In all, there ...

4.1 Type Of Offering

Whether it is large international groups such as Samsung (***), there is a huge variety of mobile applications for sports.

PlayStore

On the Play Store, the app platform for Android phones, all apps dedicated to sports activities are grouped under the category"Health and Fitness," which in turn is segmented into different ...

4.2 The Different Business Models

We can distinguish four different business models in the mobile application market The Freemium model consists of offering the application for free and pushing customers to purchase additional features. This model maximizes the value of a customer over time and then deploys a free customer base that will convert new customers. ...

4.3 The development of applications for Yoga

Since the early ****s, the practice of meditation has begun to be widespread, mainly due to the development of meditation apps. These allow the user to conduct "mindfulness" meditation sessions lasting between * minutes and an hour. The meditation market is very promising and could be worth as early as the end ...

5.1 Regulation

Regulation of this type is still under development. However, the European Union has repeatedly issued provisions in terms of privacy protection by applications, and these types of applications are strongly affected. These in fact, thanks also to the connection to wearable deviceshave access has a large amount of private data related ...

6.1 Segmentation

Company Type Sport Compatibility with wearable devices Turnover Activity trackers Runtastic (***) International Generalist Yes $** Billion (***) Strava International Generalist Yes ** Million $ (***) Nike Run Club (***) International Running Yes **.* Billion $ (***) Workout Export Start-up Fitness No na Coaching Activities * minutes Workout Startup Fitness No na Fizzup ETI Fitness Yes * Million $ (***) * minutes fitness maison Start-up Fitness No na Zova SME Coaching No * ...