NEW YORK, NEW YORK. — Emerald’s recently released “B2B Event Industry Outlook Report 2022, Charting Success Amid Evolving Expectations” — its first annual survey of 1,000 B2B event organizers, vendors/providers, and attendees in the U.S. and Canada — revealed several positive trends for trade shows in 2020, as well as an overall shift toward a year-round engagement model.
Key findings that point to strong performance for 2022 emissions include:
- The number of in-person events, as well as attendance at those events, are expected to increase in 2022 compared to 2021, but these increases will not fully offset declines from 2019 compared to 2021.
- In 2022, the number of in-person events and attendees will increase by 50% compared to 2020.
- B2B vendors/suppliers expect sales pipeline attributed to events, both live and digital, to more than offset the slowdown in 2019.
The study also found that while exhibitors and attendees value in-person events, they are looking for more opportunities for engagement and commerce throughout the year. In fact, 84% of surveyed attendees and 67% of B2B vendors/suppliers said they want show organizers to help facilitate these transactions.
When asked what types of offerings they wanted, 55% of vendors and 54% of attendees said it would be meetups or networking opportunities; 62% of attendees and 47% of vendors said it would be webinars; and nearly half of both groups preferred in-person or online roundtable discussions. A large majority of both groups (67% of vendors and 84% of attendees) also said they envisioned shows expanding the ability to place orders throughout the year, either by developing online marketplaces or integrating e-commerce into existing websites.
“A trend we’ve seen that has undoubtedly been accelerated and necessitated by the pandemic is expanding the reach of in-person B2B events and repurposing content more effectively and targeted across multiple channels and at different times throughout the year. This, coupled with the need to conduct business year-round to address shifts in buying cycles due to supply chain shortages and/or industry shifts, is driving the demand for hybrid transformation,” said Issa Jouaneh, Executive Vice President, Emerald Xcelerator. “As a result, trade shows, events and conferences are becoming face-to-face experiences as part of a broader, year-round engagement between buyer and seller. As a result, event and trade show professionals must now adapt to this new reality while creating a value proposition that resonates.”
The report can be downloaded here.
Contact Issa Jouaneh at Issa.Jouaneh@emeraldx.com