The Problem With the Peloton Economy
It’s not just a distraction — it’s a damaging sideshow
It’s been widely — indeed, endlessly — noted that Peloton has been a rare “winner” of the pandemic. With gyms reeling, many have opted for the high-tech home bike system, which involves a $1,900 piece of hardware and a $39 monthly subscription for custom exercise classes. The latest dramatic twist: Now the eight-year-old publicly traded company is reportedly “threatened” by its own struggles to meet the demand and fulfill orders for impatient customers. “The hype surrounding Peloton is like no other,” one analyst told the New York Times earlier this week.
This insulated slice of America — the million or so Peloton owners and their professional-class peers Zooming and home-ordering from Whole Foods through the pandemic recession — is the Peloton Economy. It’s gotten quite a bit of attention in a year when health and economic forces have simultaneously upturned and ended lives month after month. But ultimately, we need to face up to the fact that the Peloton Economy is not a bellwether — it’s a warning signal underscoring a serious problem that should be a top priority not just for the new Biden-Harris administration, but for business at large.
For the millions of Americans who experienced the coronavirus era as a calamity of lost jobs, lost…
