With so many of us stuck at home for the foreseeable future, there’s been a surge in sales of home fitness equipment. Peloton, however. has announced it is suspending sales of its popular Tread treadmills, as delivering them to customers’ homes poses a risk of spreading infection of coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19.
“Due to coronavirus containment measures, we have implemented threshold delivery for the Peloton Bike to the entrance of a home or apartment unit, in order to limit interpersonal contact,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Given the size and weight of the Tread, we are unable to offer the same service and, as a result, we are temporarily pausing Tread sales and deliveries.”
Peloton has assured customers who have ordered but not yet received a Tread that they will receive a full refund in the next seven to 10 days. For customers who chose to finance their purchases, their balance will be credited in full and no payment methods will be billed. It has also said that it will inform customers whose orders have been canceled once it starts selling the treadmills again.
As millions of people around the world are staying home due to the coronavirus pandemic, interest in home fitness equipment is exploding. With gyms closed in many countries, people are choosing to exercise in different ways, from taking up running to using machines at home. In some areas, fitness equipment has even joined toilet paper and hand sanitizer as a prime target of panic buying.
The Peloton Tread is a notably pricey but highly popular piece of fitness tech that features access to a subscription service for classes that can be attended virtually, making it a good tool for these times of social distancing. The company will continue to sell its popular Peloton Bikes, which offer a similar setup but for home cyclists.
The bikes will be delivered using a new delivery method to avoid spreading coronavirus infections. They will now be brought to customers’ entryways or apartment lobbies, from where they can be collected, to avoid delivery people and customers having to come into direct contact.
