SNEWS®, the leading trade news service for the US outdoor and fitness market, recently published an interesting review of the US trade show market’s status in early 2009. We are excerpting it with permission, below. The full story, “2009 trade shows still draw a buying and selling crowd, albeit smaller ones” is available at www.snewsnet.com to SNEWS subscribers.

The outdoor, fitness and sports industries are not alone in commiserating about trade shows and declining attendance and exhibitor numbers. In 2008, the exhibition industry, including all types of trade shows and conventions, declined 3.1 percent, marking the first annual decrease in business since 2002, according to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research.

Overall, four key industry metrics saw declines in 2008, with net square footage for shows dropping 2 percent, the number of exhibitors dropping 2.6 percent, attendance decreasing by 4 percent and revenue slipping 3.5 percent.

“Most trade show sectors are down,” Michael Hart, editor in chief of Tradeshow Week Magazine, told SNEWS. “The most significant problem has been attendance. It’s not that companies aren’t going, but where they used to send 10 people, they’re now sending two or three.” Hart added that smaller exhibitors are withdrawing from shows, while larger exhibitors are using smaller booths.

Hart said that the recession has hit some types of shows more than others. For market segments with multiple shows, the main shows are faring well, while smaller shows serving that particular market are hurting. “Some smaller shows have to cancel completely,” he said. This holds true for trade shows serving certain sports markets.

By the numbers
Manufacturers and retailers are making hard choices and participating in fewer events for their particular market, which is why large, annual shows continue to do relatively well because they offer buyers the sole opportunity to reach a respective channel. Here is a review of some key shows in the first quarter of the year:

>> Snowsports Industries America (SIA) reported buyer attendance dropped 5 percent for this year’s January 2009 SIA show in Las Vegas.

>> Nielsen reported attendance at the 2009 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show in Salt Lake City in January dropped about 10 percent.

>> WSA, a twice-annual shoe show, saw declines at its February show of 18 percent in overall attendance, which covers all attendees from retailers to exhibitors to media.

>> Also suffering, the January 2009 ASR show (Action Sports Retailer) in San Diego, California, was noticeably smaller this year, with 100,000 net square feet, compared to 131,000 net square feet in 2008, or down about 24 percent. Also, this year the show included 100 fewer brands than the previous year or about a 20-percent drop from 500 to 400 brands.

>> Not as bad as some nor as good as others, the IHRSA commercial fitness show in mid-March reported declines in attendance of about 15 percent, plus a drop in exhibitors and in the show’s square footage of about 20 percent.

>> Shows outside the boundaries of North America weren’t immune although some have fared better. At the winter ispo sporting goods show in Munich, Germany, in early February, early attendance figures showed a drop of about 5 percent and exhibitor numbers were down less than 4 percent.

Quality vs. quantity
Even when attendance drops, it does not always mean that the show is suddenly a waste of a company’s time and attention. Experts agree that exhibitors and attendees remain happy as long as the show continues to draw a quality crowd. As long as exhibitors can interact with influential buyers and fewer tire-kickers, they find real value in the gathering.

“Over the last six recessions, we’ve trended key performance indicators like the buying influences of attendees,” said Joe Federbush, vice president of sales and marketing for Exhibit Surveys. “We’ve found that the amount of square footage and number of attendees goes down, but the quality of the audience remains pretty strong.” He said companies may be sending fewer people, but they’re sending more of the final decision makers. “The value of the trade shows is still there for the attendees and the exhibitors.”

Nevertheless, Federbush said that these days exhibitors and attendees are demanding more detailed information on their ROI — the return they get from investing in a show: “The show organisers really have to be proving the value to attendees and exhibitors,” said Federbush. “More now than ever they need to be leveraging their registration data to come out with some more solid numbers. They need to be surveying the quality and quantity of attendees.”

What’s next?
While the trade show industry is doing OK now, the big question is what things will look like later this year or next year. Hart said that many trade shows did not change in size and scope because exhibitors were locked into binding contracts sealed the previous year. Many of those exhibitors are likely scrutinising their budgets and considering whether or not they will attend in 2010, or to what extent they will participate – either to conserve spare dollars or as a hedge on the economy. “If your business is having trouble, you might not make a commitment to go next year,” said Hart. “Of course, that could change if the overall economy picks up in the third and fourth quarters.”

In any case, Hart and others do not think we’re going to see the death of trade shows anytime soon. “Even if business is bad,” said Hart, “trade show producers are not flipping out.”

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