- What's up. This is Ali Tariq here
from SMARTBikeTrainers.com.
Okay. Zwift sent out a survey last week
to a select number of users
and invited them to participate by answering a few questions
around hypotheticals with features
and to gather their thoughts
about different cycling apps out there
and different membership models.
I did not get the survey myself,
so I don't know the full details of every question,
but this is very typical of companies
to do things like this.
It helps them gather information about the market
and their target customers, like who they are,
what they want and their willingness to pay
for certain features or products,
also it keeps them ahead of the competition.
Zwift also has the habit of giving us insight
into things they are thinking about through these surveys.
For example, in 2017,
right before Zwift increased their price from $10 to $15,
they sent out a survey with questions about pricing.
Also just last month, they sent out a survey
with a fictional online store
with supposedly a fictional smart bike
that they later confirmed that they are actually working on
and expect to be released possibly later this year.
So, with that in mind,
there's one main thing in this latest survey
that captured the Internet's attention
and I want to talk about here in this video.
This survey had a question about the interest
in a premium membership,
with features that are geared
mostly toward advanced training
and would give you everything you need to train
and cycle at your best.
From adaptive goal-based training plans,
to advance analytics.
So, this caught my attention.
One thing you know about me,
if you've been watching this channel for any period of time
or follow me on social media,
is I tend to prefer structured training over social riding.
So, naturally this caught my attention.
The survey then goes on and lists
what's included in your current app.
And these are all features,
that you are familiar with already such as virtual worlds,
sim riding, access to races and group rides,
meetup and riding with friends
and access to cycling workouts.
Then there's this new a premium membership,
which they state includes the ability to manage workouts
all in one place with an adaptive training calendar,
custom adaptive training plans,
daily AI-powered workouts recommendations,
automatic FTP detection,
and the ability to take workouts outdoor
on a Garmin or Wahoo head unit.
Then the survey asked if you would be willing
to pay 20 pounds per month for the new premium package
which is equivalent to $27,
that's about $12 more than the current Zwift membership.
So, that's a loaded amount of features.
When thinking of adaptive training
and daily AI-powered type workout recommendations,
there are two popular companies that come to mind
that are already doing this right now.
One is Trainerroad.
Trainerroad uses machine learning to create a custom plan,
recommend workouts and adapts their workout recommendations
based on your past performance, feedback and goals you set.
Xert is another smart app that takes your performance data
and does a deep dive analysis,
recommends workouts for the day
and make adjustment to your workouts.
In real time they also automatically detect
and estimate your FTP without requiring you to test.
Now, these two companies basically already do a part,
if not all of what Zwift wants to offer
in their hypothetical Zwift premium package.
And it took these companies years to get to that point.
For example, it took Trainerroad I think over a year
to introduce outdoor workouts.
And took them years to fine tune their training plans
and training calendar and they are still doing that.
And just recently their adaptive training system
became available to the public after years of research,
development and testing.
Wahoo SYSTM is another strong app
and a popular app that pride itself
with workouts and good training plans,
but until now they haven't been able
to put together an adaptive training system
because this stuff is very hard to get right.
With that said, it makes me wonder
if Zwift will be able to pull this off,
at least anytime in the near future.
As they say, once past behavior,
is the biggest predictor of future behavior.
And historically Zwift hasn't been the quickest
at releasing new features to their platform.
Also, it doesn't look like this was on their roadmap
based on some of the things they discussed
and showcased last fall.
As a matter of fact, some of the features they showcased
are already behind schedule.
And this isn't the first time Zwift toys
with the idea of price increase
by offering different membership tiers either.
In the summer of 2020, Zwift sent out a survey
suggesting three different membership packages
and prices as high as $45 per month.
No mention of adaptive training
or AI-powered workout recommendation in that survey.
Instead they called it coach-designed
and tailored training plans.
So, clearly Zwift has been thinking
of revamping their training plans in some capacity.
But again, this makes me wonder,
is Zwift really considering introducing these features
or are they throwing these type of surveys out
to fill out how users react to a price increase?
Or maybe both.
Zwift hasn't revised their prices since 2017.
Think about that.
Since 2017, we've seen almost every app out there
raise their prices in the past four years.
Trainerroad alone, raised their price twice
in less than a year.
But assuming Zwift really wants to target
the self-coached athletes and improve their training plans
with adaptive training and AI workout recommendations,
probably the fastest way to get them there
is by making some kind of an acquisition.
Can they do it in house?
Absolutely. I have no doubts they can pull this off.
But that's going to be a very long road, no pun intended,
to get them to a place where they can come out and say,
"Hey, we have these features
"and we want to charge you for them."
Eric Min, Zwift CEO has shown an interest
in Xert in the past,
he has used it and even shown that in his Strava uploads.
Could Xert be possible acquisition?
Possibly. They could also look into Trainerroad
or even another lesser known smaller company
called VeloPro.bike, that already does a lot of the things
that Zwift listed
and makes the most sense to me,
if Zwift is looking to acquire the technology itself.
But even if they acquire Xert or VeloPro,
their algorithm only targets cyclists,
so triathletes and runners will be left out.
But even with acquisition,
they still need to integrate the company and software,
which can take a while too.
As much as I would love for Zwift to offer
these new features as I would use them myself,
my guess here is, Zwift is just testing the water
to raise their prices,
while collecting ideas for ways down the road.
A new interface is coming with new features
and they are also working on the user's ability
to create clubs.
So, it wouldn't surprise me if they come out
and raise prices after these are all released.
I wish I had a crystal ball to see what's coming
but I wanna hear from you, what do you make of all of this?
Would you use a premium membership like Zwift described?
How much more would you be willing to pay
for your Zwift membership?
Let's chat in the comments.
Okay. Hope you find this video helpful.
Remember to hit the like button,
it helps the channel and the video quite a bit
and I appreciate it.
And if you are still watching and have not subscribed yet,
then you know what to do.
Thank you for watching and see you guys in the next video.
(fast paced music)
(whooshing sound effects)