It doesn’t matter if you’re building a new health club or refurbishing your tired sports club: your lockers form an essential expenditure.

Combining the challenges of choosing the right material, best design, and space versus number of users takes a lot of work. This quick guide will make sure you’re asking yourself the right questions before you invest in new lockers for your gym.

Vital Questions to Ask Before You Buy Lockers for Your Gym

Your customers want space, security, and easily accessible lockers. Make sure you give this to them by considering these essential questions on your locker purchase quest.

How Much Space Do You Need for Lockers?

You need to seriously consider how much space you have for lockers and weigh this up against the number of people likely to need a locker at any one time.

Choose your busiest time to assess the typical maximum number of lockers required. This will ensure you’ll keep customers happy – there’s nothing worse than running out of lockable storage in peak hours!

Look at the vertical space as well as floor square footage you have available. Stacking two large or three smaller lockers helps to keep the footprint to a minimum without disappointing customers. However, you’ll also need to think about how easy it is to access stacks: will strangers have to interrupt each other to access their stuff?

What Will Your Lockers Need to Store?

Your facility type will dictate the minimum size you need for each cabinet. A health club, for example, with predominantly swim and spa facilities, can accommodate smaller lockers. Most customers will store a change of clothes and that’s about it.

A sports facility, however, needs larger lockers. They’ll need to accommodate equipment such as tennis rackets as well as additional items such as extra changes of clothes and towels.

How Will Your Lockers Operate?

Will your customers need to bring their own padlock? Do you want a coin-operated system? What about an automatic or digital locking system?

You’ll need to consider how you’ll balance security with convenience. Coin-operated doors, for example, are useful for sports clubs with both member and pay-as-you-play customers. A high-tech system, on the other hand, would suit high-end membership-only clubs to add to the security and give a feeling of luxury, too.

You’ll also need to think about how you’ll access lockers with forgotten keys or that have been locked and left for days on end.

How Will You Balance Security With Hygiene?

Your customers need to know their items are safe – but you also don’t want sweaty gym kit festering and causing a health hazard.

Good air flow is essential for storage in sports-based facilities, but you want your customers to feel their stuff is protected. Mesh lockers are very practical but they can leave the contents visible when locked: while they’re secure, customers may wish to have more privacy for their items.

Is Aesthetic or Price More Important to You?

A smart locker room improves the overall customer experience of any facility. However, the material you choose for yours will affect the price.

Metal and plastic lockers are cost-efficient, easy to clean, and hard-wearing. However, in luxury health club settings they can look out of place. In this case, quality wood cabinets are a better choice – but they’ll be more costly to put in place.

Speak to an Expert to Find Your Perfect Gym Storage Solution

When you’ve whittled down your options of space, number and configuration of cabinets, and overall style, it’s time to shop around.

There are so many options for lockers out there, however, it’s often an overwhelming experience to try and purchase them alone. Speak to our expert team today to find out more about our specialized options available for sports and health facilities like yours.