New Zealand: A digitally engaged wellness economy in Oceania
- December 17, 2025 ⎯ 10 mins read
New Zealand’s health and wellness market is rapidly evolving due to digital innovation, rising demand for holistic well-being, and government initiatives. This guide highlights key market trends, consumer behaviours, and opportunities for fitness and wellness brands entering the New Zealand market.
Market size
New Zealand’s health and wellness market is forecast to reach NZD 6.53 billion (USD 3.7 billion) by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 62.06% from 2025 (databridgemarketresearch.com, 2025).
The corporate wellness segment is expected to grow from NZD 427.3 million (USD 242.1 million) in 2024 to NZD 533.7 million (USD 302.3 million) by 2030 (grandviewresearch.com, 2025).
Key growth drivers include increased consumer focus on mental health, fitness, and preventive care. The New Zealand government spearheads these initiatives (health.govt.nz, 2025).
Digital wellness platforms and mobile health apps are gaining traction, with the digital payments market projected to grow from NZD 80.1 billion (USD 45.4 billion) in 2025 to NZD 184.3 billion (USD 104.4 billion) by 2030 (mordorintelligence.com, 2025).
Fitness landscape
New Zealand has over 2,293 gyms nationwide, with major chains including Les Mills, Anytime Fitness, CityFitness, and Snap Fitness (poidata.io, 2025).
The fitness industry generated USD 581 million in revenue in 2025, with 5,279 employees across 1,055 businesses (ibisworld.com, 2025). Boutique fitness studios and hybrid models are gaining popularity, with 22% of adults using structured providers and 67% engaging in regular exercise (ausleisure.com.au, 2025).
New Zealand’s payment landscape
New Zealand is one of the most cashless economies globally, with 94% of transaction value now electronic, including card (mobile-relocation.com, 2025). Popular mobile payment apps include ANZ FastPay, ASB Mobile Banking, and Wise (ezeepayment.com, 2025).
New Zealand also has a strong focus on open banking reform, designed to make it easier for citizens to share their banking information digitally with businesses, FinTechs and other banks. This has led to a small boom in FinTech businesses in the region, and the ability for many banks to process payments on weekends – improving reconciliation timeframes for customers and businesses alike (mbie.govt.nz, 2025; rbnz.govt.nz, 2025)
Digital wallet usage is supported by a mature payments infrastructure and widespread adoption of contactless cards and mobile POS systems (globaldata.com, 2025).

Government initiatives
The Ministry of Health supports wellness through programs targeting obesity, mental health, and preventive care (health.govt.nz, 2025).
The Manatū Wāhine Physical Activity and Wellbeing Fund invested NZD 1.72 million (USD 1 million) to improve access for women and girls to sport and recreation (women.govt.nz, 2025).
New Zealand’s 2025 budget includes funding for health equity and community wellness programs (treasury.govt.nz, 2025).

Boutique fitness trends
Boutique fitness in New Zealand is evolving toward wellness-driven offerings such as recovery studios, biohacking, and guided stretching programs (telomereconsulting.com, 2025).
Shorter, more efficient workouts and hybrid memberships are also trending (xendurance.com, 2025).
Corporate wellness
Corporate wellness programs are increasingly personalised, with employers offering flexible schedules, mental health support, and fitness benefits (peoplepassion.co.nz, 2025). Presenteeism remains a challenge, costing businesses productivity and morale (umbrella.org.nz, 2025). 
Challenges
Despite growth, the fitness industry faces challenges, including economic pressures, competition from digital platforms, and consumer demand for flexible, affordable options (exercise.org.nz, 2025). Hybrid models and wellness partnerships are key to sustaining engagement.
Ezypay is New Zealand–ready!
New Zealand’s digitally engaged wellness economy and growing demand for flexible payments align perfectly with Ezypay’s strengths in simplifying recurring billing across fitness, education, and childcare sectors. With a growing list of partner solutions and integrations, Ezypay has the right solution for every health, wellness and fitness business, including Hapana, Gymdesk, GymMaster, Membr, Perfect Gym, and Xoda.
See the full list here: https://www.ezypay.com/partner-directory
- Recurring billing made simple: Ezypay makes recurring billing easy for gyms and studios, helping fitness brands save time and grow in a digital-first economy.
- Solving local challenges: Support compliant, transparent collections that build trust and reduce risk around prepaid models and multi-site operations.
- Flexible solutions for growth: Whether you run a boutique fitness studio or a growing gym, Ezypay scales securely with your business in New Zealand’s wellness-driven market.
- Seamless integrations: Seamlessly integrate with top fitness platforms while offering secure local payment options used daily across New Zealand.
- Advanced settlement: Ezypay makes it easy to settle funds to multiple accounts so you can easily split payments up between franchise locations, vendors, suppliers and more.
Sources:
- https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/nucleus/new-zealand-health-tourism-market
- https://www.grandviewresearch.com/horizon/outlook/corporate-wellness-market/new-zealand
- https://www.mbie.govt.nz/business-and-employment/business/competition-regulation-and-policy/consumer-data-right/open-banking
- https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/newzealand-payments-market
- https://www.poidata.io/report/gym/new-zealand
- https://www.ibisworld.com/new-zealand/industry/gyms-and-fitness-centres/658/
- https://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/new-zealands-fitness-industry-set-for-significant-growth-in-2025-despite-economic-headwinds/
- https://www.mobile-relocation.com/move-to-nz-resources-blog/2025/8/18/what-a-cashless-new-zealand-looks-like
- https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/-/media/project/sites/rbnz/files/regulation-and-supervision/banks/banking-supervision-handbook/bs17-obr-policy.pdf
- https://ezeepayment.com/mobile-payment-apps-in-new-zealand/
- https://www.globaldata.com/media/banking/new-zealand-card-payments-set-for-3-9-growth-driven-by-shift-to-contactless-and-electronic-payments-forecasts-globaldata/
- https://www.health.govt.nz/strategies-initiatives/programmes-and-initiatives
- https://www.women.govt.nz/about-us/manatu-wahine-physical-activity-and-wellbeing-fund
- https://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/summary-intiatives/summary-initiatives-budget-2025
- https://www.telomereconsulting.com/fitness-studio-marketing-blog/5-predictions-shaping-boutique-fitness-in-2025
- https://xendurance.com/en-nz/blogs/blog/key-trends-and-predictions-shaping-the-fitness-landscape-in-2025
- https://www.peoplepassion.co.nz/articles/the-evolution-of-employee-well-being-in-2025-what-new-zealand-businesses-need-to-know
- https://umbrella.org.nz/umbrellawellbeingreport-2025/
- https://www.exercise.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/February-19-PDF.pdf
