Trade show

A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and customers, study activities of rivals, and examine recent market trends and opportunities.

Stands during MWC Barcelona 2019, a trade show for the mobile communications industry in Barcelona, Spain

Trade shows are crucial for businesses, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts in diverse industries. These dynamic gatherings provide valuable networking opportunities, learning experiences, and avenues for business expansion. Whether you're attending for the first time or are a seasoned exhibitor, mastering the art of navigating these events can greatly enhance your trade fair journey.^[1]

In contrast to consumer shows, only some trade shows are open to the public, while others can only be attended by company representatives (members of the trade, e.g. professionals) and members of the press, therefore trade shows are classified as either "public" or "trade only". A few shows are hybrids of the two; one example is the Frankfurt Book Fair, which is trade only for its first three days and open to the general public on its final two days. They are held on a continuing basis in virtually all markets and normally attract companies from around the globe. For example, in the U.S., there are currently over 10,000^[2] trade shows held every year, and several online directories have been established to help organizers, attendees, and marketers identify appropriate events.

History

Modern trade shows follow in the tradition of trade fairs established in late medieval Europe such as the Champagne fairs or the Skåne Market, in the era of merchant capitalism. In this era, produce and craft producers visited towns for trading fairs, to sell and showcase products. These markets were held annually or on several specific days a year, usually at geographically particularly favorable locations and in conjunction with an religious festival in order to benefit from the rush of the public. The tradition of fairs taking place in spring and autumn has been preserved in some cases until today. From the late eighteenth century, industrial exhibitions in Europe and North America became more common reflecting the technological dynamism of the Industrial Revolution.

In the late 19th century, the concept of annual industry-wide trade shows gained traction, spreading from European manufacturing centers to North America. By the 20th century, specialized companies came into existence simply to manage the trade-show industry, and permanent trade show grounds or convention centres were established as venues that featured a rotating calendar of trade shows.

In the 21st century, with the rapid industrialization of Asia, trade shows and exhibitions are now commonplace throughout the Asian continent, with China dominating the exhibitions industry in Asia, accounting for more than 55 per cent of all space sold in the region in 2011.^[3]

Use

 

IBM stand during CeBIT 2010 at the Hanover Fairground, the largest exhibition ground in the world, in Hanover, Germany

 

A small trade show in Croatia, with the exhibition booth of the Croatian Chamber of Economy

Trade shows play important roles in marketing as well as business networking in market sectors that use them. People will seek to meet people and companies at their own level in the supply chain, as well as potential suppliers and potential buyers.^[4]

Generally there will be a central trade show floor with booths where people exhibit their goods or services, and throughout the day there will be seminars for continuing education on matters relevant to the industry, like best practices, trends, and regulation. There will also be some shared meals with keynote speakers, and social events in the evenings.^[4] Booths range from simple tables to elaborate constructions.^[5]

Trade shows often involve a considerable investment in time and money by participating companies.^[6] The planning includes arranging meetings with other attendees beforehand and resources to follow up on opportunities that are created at the show.^[7] Costs include space rental, booth design and construction of trade show displays, telecommunications, travel, accommodations, and promotional literature and items to give to attendees.^[4]

In addition, costs are incurred at the show for services such as electrical, booth cleaning, internet services, and drayage (also known as material handling). This local spending on logistics leads cities to promote trade shows as a means of local economic development, as well as providing opportunities for local businesses to grow, and attract new businesses to come.^[8]

 

The large format work that can be done at international trade shows

List of major venues

#	Ground	City	Indoor floor area	Outdoor floor area
1	Hanover Fairground	Hanover	496,000 m^2 (5,340,000 sq ft)	58,070 m^2 (625,100 sq ft)
2	World Market Center Las Vegas	Las Vegas	460,000 m^2 (5,000,000 sq ft)
3	Messe Frankfurt	Frankfurt	366,600 m^2 (3,946,000 sq ft)	96,000 m^2 (1,030,000 sq ft)
4	Fira de Barcelona	Barcelona	365,000 m^2 (3,930,000 sq ft)	50,000 m^2 (540,000 sq ft)
5	Fiera Milano	Milan	345,000 m^2 (3,710,000 sq ft)	60,000 m^2 (650,000 sq ft)
6	Canton Fair Complex	Guangzhou	338,000 m^2 (3,640,000 sq ft)^[9]	43,600 m^2 (469,000 sq ft)
7	Las Vegas Convention Center	Winchester, Nevada (Las Vegas)	297,000 m^2 (3,200,000 sq ft)
8	Koelnmesse	Cologne	284,000 m^2 (3,060,000 sq ft)	100,000 m^2 (1,100,000 sq ft)
9	Messe Düsseldorf	Düsseldorf	262,740 m^2 (2,828,100 sq ft)	43,000 m^2 (460,000 sq ft)
10	McCormick Place	Chicago	248,000 m^2 (2,670,000 sq ft)
11	Parc des Expositions de Villepinte	Paris	246,300 m^2 (2,651,000 sq ft)
12	Paris expo Porte de Versailles	Paris	227,000 m^2 (2,440,000 sq ft)
13	Feria de Madrid IFEMA	Madrid	200,000 m^2 (2,200,000 sq ft)
14	National Exhibition Centre	Solihull, UK	186,000 m^2 (2,000,000 sq ft)	100,000 m^2 (1,100,000 sq ft)
15	Messe München	Munich	180,000 m^2 (1,900,000 sq ft)	425,000 m^2 (4,570,000 sq ft)
16	Messe Nürnberg	Nuremberg	180,000 m^2 (1,900,000 sq ft)	50,000 m^2 (540,000 sq ft)
17	Messe Berlin	Berlin	160,000 m^2 (1,700,000 sq ft)	390,000 m^2 (4,200,000 sq ft)

List of major trade shows

Fairs with a published attendance of more than 50,000

Title	Description	Dates	Location	Visitors
AgQuip	Agriculture	August 22–24, 2017	Gunnedah, New South Wales,   Australia	100,000 approximately in 2005^[10]
ANUGA	Food and beverage	October 7–11, 2017	Koelnmesse,   Germany	165,000 approximately in 2017^[11]
Arab Health	Healthcare	January 24, 2022 - January 27, 2022	Dubai World Trade Centre,   United Arab Emirates	58,028 in 2022^[12]
Automechanika	Automotive aftermarket	September 13–17, 2016	Messe Frankfurt,   Germany	136,000
BAUMA	Construction	April 8–17, 2019	Munich,   Germany	620,000 in 2019^[13]
Bangladesh Livestock Exhibition	Livestock, animal, agriculture, agricultural machinery	Mid-February	Dhaka,   Bangladesh
Beef Australia	Beef	May (triennially)	Rockhampton,   Australia	90,000 in 2015^[14]
Berlin Music Week	Music	September 3–7, 2014^[15]	Berlin,   Germany	70,000 in 2012
Bologna Motor Show	Auto show	December 3–11, 2016	Bologna,   Italy	450,000 in 2013^[16]
boot Düsseldorf	Boats	January 21–29, 2017	Messe Düsseldorf,   Germany	267,379 in 2008^[17]
Buenos Aires International Book Fair	Books	April 27 – May 15, 2017	Buenos Aires,   Argentina	1,240,000 in 2008^[18]
Cairo International Book Fair	Books	January 27, 2017 - February 10, 2017	Cairo,   Egypt	2,000,000 in 2007
Canton Fair	Consumer and industry products	Spring session: April 15–19 (Phase 1); April 23–27 (Phase 2); May 1–5 (Phase 3). (111th Session) Autumn session: October 15–19 (Phase 1); October 23–27 (Phase 2); October 31- November 4 (Phase 3).	Guangzhou,   China	192,013 in Spring Session 2008^[19]
CeBIT	Information and communication technology	March 20–24	Hanover,   Germany	480,000 in 2007^[20]
CES (Consumer Electronics Show)	Consumer electronics	Jan 7 – Jan 10, Every Year	Las Vegas Convention Center,   United States
Comic Market	Comics	August 11–13, 2017	Tokyo,   Japan	550,000 in Summer Session 2008^[21]
COMPUTEX Taipei	Computer show	May 30, 2017 – June 3, 2017	Taipei,   Taiwan	106,517 in 2008^[22]
CONEXPO-CON/AGG	Construction	March 7–11, 2017	Las Vegas Convention Center,   Taiwan	145,000 approximately in 2008^[23]
Dhaka International Trade Fair	Consumer products	January 1 - January 31, Every Year	Bangabandhu Exhibition Center, Dhaka,   Bangladesh	Hundreds of Thousands
Drupa	Printing equipment	May 31 – June 10, 2016	Messe Düsseldorf,   Germany	393,654 in 2004 from 127 countries^[24]
Dubai Food Festival (DFF)	Foods	May 2 - May 15	Dubai Festival City,   United Arab Emirates
Dubai Airshow	Aerospace	Biennial	Dubai World Central,   United Arab Emirates
Ekushey Book Fair	Books	February 1 - February 28, Every Year	Bangla Academy, Ramna, Dhaka,   Bangladesh	70,000
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo)	Video games	June 13–15, 2017	Los Angeles, California,   United States	68,400 (2017)
EICMA	Motorcycles	November 10–13, 2016	Fiera Milano,   Italy	504,999 in 2008^[17]
Euroflora	Flower show	April/May once time every 5 years	Genoa,   Italy	730,000 in 1986^[25]
EuroShop	Retailing	March 5–09, 2017	Messe Düsseldorf,   Germany	104,766 in 2008^[17]
Farnborough Air Show	Aerospace	16–22 July 2018	Farnborough Airport, Hampshire,   United Kingdom	209,000 (2012)
Fieracavalli	Horse show	November 10–13, 2016	Verona,   Italy	125,975 in 2008^[17]
Fiera internazionale del libro	Books	May 18–22, 2017	Turin,   Italy	300,000 in 2007^[citation needed]
Frankfurt Book Fair	Books	October 11–15, 2017^[26]	Messe Frankfurt,   Germany	280,194 in 2011^[27]
Games Convention	Video games	ended 2008	Leipzig,   Germany	203,000 in 2008^[28]
Gamescom	Video games	August 21–25, 2018	Koelnmesse,   Germany	350,000 in 2017^[29]
Genoa International Boat Show	Boats	September 21–26, 2017	Genoa,   Italy	236,322 in 2008^[17]
GITEX	Consumer electronics	March 29, 2007 – April 1, 2017	Dubai,   United Arab Emirates	146,000 in 2016^[30]
Hannover Messe	Industry, technology	April 24–28, 2017	Hanover,   Germany	193,222 in 2008^[17]
High Point Market	Furniture	April and October	High Point, North Carolina,   United States	70,000-80,000
IFA	Consumer electronics and home appliances	September 1–6, 2017	Berlin,   Germany	240,000 in 2016^[31]
IITF (India International Trade Fair)	Consumer products	Mid-November	Delhi,   India
imm Cologne	Furniture	January 15–21, 2018	Koelnmesse,   Germany	106,677 in 2008^[17]
InnoTrans	Rail Transport Technology	September 22–25, 2020	Messe Berlin,   Germany	106,612 in 2010^[32]
Intermot	Motorcycles	October 3–7, 2018	Koelnmesse,   Germany	203,000 in 2012^[33]
International CES	Consumer electronics	January 9–12, 2018	Las Vegas Convention Center, Nevada,   United States	177,000+ in 2016^[34]
Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung	Cars	September 14–29, 2017	Messe Frankfurt,   Germany	931,700 in 2015^[35]
IGW Berlin	Sustainable agriculture	January 20–29, 2017	Messe Berlin,   Germany	424,502 in 2008^[17]
ITB Berlin	tourism	March 10–12, 2017	Messe Berlin,   Germany	149,776 in 2008^[17]
International Technical Fair	machine engineering, automobiles, transport, information technologies, software, electronics, electrical engineering, construction, chemistry, power engineering, ecology	September 25–30, 2017	Plovdiv,   Bulgaria	141,000 in 2006^[citation needed]
Jakarta Fair	Retail (Cars and motorcycles, electronics, sports equipment, fashion accessories and garments, to household utilities, furniture, food, handcrafts, herbs and medicine, cosmetics, banking services and many others)^[36]	May 22–30, 2019	Jakarta,   Indonesia
Kolkata International Book Fair	Books	Late January - Early February	Kolkata,   India	2,000,000 in 2012 - largest book fair in the world^[37]
Light + Building	Architectural lighting design	March 18–23, 2018	Messe Frankfurt,   Germany	167,084 in 2008^[17]
Mass-Trans Innovation Japan	Rail Transport Technology	November 27–29, 2019	Makuhari Messe, Tokyo,   Japan
MEDICA Trade Fair	Medical technology	November 13–16, 2017	Messe Düsseldorf,   Germany	136,871 in 2008^[17]
Mobile World Congress	mobile telephony, Communications	February 25, 2019 – February 28, 2019	Barcelona,   Spain	107,000 in 2018^[38]
SIAL Paris	Food industry	October 15, 2022 - October 18, 2022	Paris,   France	310,000 in 2018^[39]
Mondial de l'Automobile	Auto show	September 29, 2016 – October 16, 2016	Paris,   France	1,400,000 in 2006^[40]
NAB Show	Broadcasting	April 22–27, 2017	Las Vegas Convention Center, Nevada,   United States	93,000+ in 2013^[41]
The NAMM Show	Music	January 16–19, 2020	Anaheim, California,   United States	115,888^[42]
NAIAS	Cars	January 14–21, 2018	Detroit, Michigan,   United States	800,000 in 2018^[43]
National Agricultural Fieldays	Agriculture	4 days in mid June	Hamilton,   New Zealand	125,878 in 2007^[44]
Novi Sad Fair	Agriculture	Middle of May	Novi Sad,   Serbia	600,000^[citation needed]
Nuremberg International Toy Fair	Toys, Games	February 1–6, 2017	Nuremberg,   Germany	80,000 in 2011^[45]
Paris International Agricultural Show	Agricultural show	February 25, 2017 - March 5, 2017	Paris,   France	619,000 in 2017^[46]
Paris Air Show - SIAE	Aerospace	June 19–25, 2017	Paris,   France	322,000 in 2017
Pitha Utsob	Cake and food	January First week	Dhaka,   Bangladesh
Photokina	Photography	May 27–30, 2020	Koelnmesse,   Germany	180,000 in 2018^[47]
Salone del Mobile (International Furniture Fair)	Furniture	March 2007	FieraMilano,   Italy	270,000 in 2007^[48]
SEMA Show	Automobile aftermarket	First week of November	Las Vegas, Nevada,   United States	125,000 in 2014^[49]
SHOT Show	Firearms	January 22–25, 2019	Sands Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada,   United States	60,000+ in 2018^[50]
SIMA	Real estate	May 25–28, 2017	Madrid,   Spain	122,760 in 2008^[17]
SIMO TCI	Consumer electronics	October 18–20, 2017	Madrid,   Spain	300,000 approximately^[51]
Sydney Royal Easter Show	Agriculture	14 days over Easter	Sydney,   Australia	900,000 in 2007^[52]
Tehran International Book Fair	Books	May 3–13, 2017	Tehran,   Iran	2,000,000 approximately in 2010^[citation needed]
The Big 5	Construction	November 26–29, 2017 (annual)	Dubai,   UAE	78,579 participants in 2016^[53]
Thessaloniki International Fair	General	Annually	Thessaloniki,   Greece	250,000 in 2011^[54]
Tokyo Motor Show	Auto shows	October 27, 2017 - November 5, 2017	Tokyo,   Japan	1,512,100 in 2005^[citation needed]
Tokyo Game Show	Video games	September 21–24, 2017	Tokyo,   Japan	271,224 in 2016^[55]
Trade Expo Indonesia	Export	October 24–28, 2018	BSD City,   Indonesia	28,000^[56]
World Ag Expo	Agriculture	Annually	Tulare, California,   United States	Approx. 100,000 annually^[57]
World Dairy Expo	Dairy industry	October 3-03, 2017	Alliant Energy Center, 2015 at Madison, Wisconsin,   United States	75,000

See also

• Agricultural show
• Buyers Market of American Craft
• County fair
• Lead retrieval
• List of world's fairs
• Rodeo
• State fair
• World's fair
• Hall of Nations

References

1. Dasari, Shruti. "The Only Trade Fair Guide You Will Ever Need". Tibro Blog. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
2. CIC Economic Significance Study Executive Summary p.5 http://www.conventionindustry.org/ResearchInfo/EconomicSignificanceStudy/ESSExecSummary.aspx 2017-04-20 at the Wayback Machine
3. . TTGmice. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
4. Applegate, Jane (17 September 2001). "How to Work a Trade Show". Entrepreneur. from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
5. Morgan, Brittney (September 15, 2014). "Trade Show Displays: A Buyer's Guide". Business News Daily. from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
6. "Benefits and risks of trade shows and exhibitions". The State of Queensland: Business Queensland. 5 July 2011. from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
7. Tabbitt, Sue (5 February 2016). "Making the most of an international trade show". The Guardian. from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
8. Bathelt, Harald; Golfetto, Francesca; Rinallo, Diego (2014). Trade Shows in the Globalizing Knowledge Economy. OUP Oxford. p. 86ff. ISBN 9780191019036.
9. "Guangzhou - Canton Fair Complex(No. 380, Yuejiang Zhong Road, Guangzhou, China)". from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
10. . Farmonline.com.au. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
11. "Final report: Anuga 2017: The clear number one for the global food industry". Koelnmesse (Press release). 13 October 2017. from the original on 2017-10-29.
12. arabhealthonline.com
13. . Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2020-04-02.
14. Zonca, Craig Organisers claim big success at Rockhampton beef expo 2021-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, Queensland Country Hour, ABC Rural, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 8 May 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
15. "Berlin Music Week". Berlin Music Week. from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
16. it:Motor Show
17. (PDF). UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
18. The Fair was a success and they are already working for 2009 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine, Clarin, May 13, 2008
19. "Trade Show Calendar: Import export trade events in China, Asia, worldwide". www.cantonfair.com. from the original on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
20. CeBIT End of Show Report 2007 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, CeBIT. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
21. コミックマーケット７４アフターレポート (in Japanese). comiket.cp.jp. from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
22. . Computex.biz. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17.
23. "CONEXPO-CON/AGG". conexpoconagg.com. from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved March 20, 2008. Note: figures include attendees for the co-located International Exposition for Power Transmission.
24. . drupa.de. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
25. "Account Suspended". www.euroflora2011.it. from the original on 20 June 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
26. Buchmesse, Frankfurter. "Frankfurt Book Fair - Book Fair 2018". www.book-fair.com. from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
27. "The new face of the Book Fair" (Press release). Frankfurt Book Fair. from the original on 2012-01-07. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
28. . Leipziger-Messe.de. August 24, 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
29. (PDF). Koelnmesse. 26 August 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
30. "Gitex 2016". from the original on 2017-03-08.
31. "International Facility Management Expo 2018 - B-FOR". b-for.com. from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
32. 2010-09-24T08:53:00+01:00. "InnoTrans 2010 expects record visitor numbers". Railway Gazette International. from the original on 2020-02-27. Retrieved 2019-11-30.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
33. "Final Report INTERMOT 2012" (PDF) (Press release). Koelnmesse. October 7, 2012. (PDF) from the original on June 4, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
34. "CES!" (Press release). Consumer Electronics Association. January 10, 2016. from the original on January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
35. (Press release). IAA. 2015-09-27. Archived from the original on 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2016-01-10.
36. "Despite riots, Jakartans pack 2019 Jakarta Fair opening night". The Jakarta Post. from the original on 4 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
37. KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR – A MELTING POT 2016-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
38. /humans.txt. "Mobile World Congress in Barcelona - Info - And - Stats". ExpoBeds. from the original on 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
39. "SIAL Paris in France - Info - And - Stats". 28 October 2018. from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
40. "Salon de l'auto 2008". www.hd19.net. from the original on 18 June 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
41. "2014 NAB Show Brings Cloud-Based Workflows Center Stage" (Press release). National Association of Broadcasters. March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 12, 2014. See "About NAB Show" near the bottom of the page.
42. "A New Decade, A Crossroads of Opportunity: The NAMM Show, The Global Platform for Innovation in Music Products, Pro Audio and Entertainment Technology Returns to Anaheim" (Press release). January 20, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
43. [1] 2021-12-09 at the Wayback Machine, Detroit Free Press, "Not a record, but still a strong showing: Detroit auto show attracts more than 800,000." Retrieved March 3, 2018.
44. Fieldays 2007 Statistics 2008-01-19 at the Wayback Machine, National Agricultural Fieldays Website. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
45. "Report of International Toy Fair 2011: The results" (Press release). from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
46. "Paris International Agricultural Show 2017: Attendance". 5 March 2017. from the original on 2017-03-07.
47. "photokina 2018: impressive images from Cologne". Koelnmesse. 2018-09-29. from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
48. "Cosmit - Visitatori". cosmit.it. from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
49. "Get your Magazine in front of Thousands of Potential Subscribers!". SEMA Show - Las Vegas Convention Center - Nov 1 - Nov 4, 2016. 3 May 2012. from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
50. . National Shooting Sports Foundation. January 26, 2018. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
51. SIMO press release, July 25, 2007. Retrieved on October 11, 2007
52. About the 2008 Show 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine, Sydney Royal Easter Show Website. Retrieved March 14, 2008.
53. "The Big 5 Dubai | Construction Exhibition - Construction Event". www.thebig5.ae. from the original on 2017-06-03. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
54. [76th Thessaloniki International Fair]. www.helexpo.gr. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
55. "Tokyo Game Show: 2016 Attendance". from the original on 2017-03-08.
56. "Trade Expo Indonesia 2018 Dongkrak Nilai Transaksi Hingga 5 Kali Lipat". Kompas. from the original on 29 October 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
57. "Approx. 100,000 attendees". International Agri-Center. internationalagricenter.com. from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.

External links

•   Media related to Trade fairs at Wikimedia Commons