Strava’s athlete social network is bringing people together IRL.
What’s happening: Strava’s annual Year in Sport report highlighted trends across the platform. In particular, the effect of group training significantly boosted overall training.
- Compared to riding solo, cycling in pairs resulted in ~80% more time per ride and ~60% more distance.
- Riding in groups of three or more added 125% more time in the saddle, going 160% longer per ride.
- Walking or hiking with a partner increased both time and distance nearly 50% vs. solo trips.
A source of motivation through the wintertime (namely January), grouped cyclists and runners recorded 87% and 78% more active time, respectively, than those exercising alone.
A success for both users and Strava, the data suggests the company’s community-building efforts are going to plan, both on and offline.
Strava’s Networking
Giving credence to the phrase “Strava or it didn’t happen,” more users—100M as of this year— are discovering the platform, and, from endurance athletes to gym rats, they are religiously posting a growing list of activities.
Strava’s biggest YoY growth in activity uploads were from alpine skiing (379%) and snowboarding (180%), but not far down the list were stair stepper (78%), weight training (52%), and elliptical (48%). Meanwhile, 52% of all users participated in some form of trail activity.
What it means: This year, a long list of product developments, partnerships, and integrations have made Strava a central hub to endurance training but also general fitness.
- January: Unveiled Points of Interest and Starting Points to encourage offline meetups
- May: Acquired Recover Athletics, a prehab app for endurance athletes
- June: Activated new tracking, map, and discovery tools for trail activities
- July: Partnered with smart ring maker Oura for biometric data sharing
- November: Launched an Activity Lens on Snapchat for storytelling content
Growing pains. Over the last two years, pandemic-era lockdowns increased outdoor activity and Strava was a beneficiary. After scaling up rapidly to meet surging demand, the company is downsizing amid uncertain economic conditions — cutting ~15% of its global workforce last week.
Looking ahead: In May, on the Fitt Insider Podcast, Strava CEO Michael Horvath said the company had a lot in store in regard to paid subscription features, connected wellness, and brand storytelling. With its new social features—and likely more in the pipeline—expect its member growth to pick up the pace.
