Trade Shows:
Must? or Bust?
No matter how small your retail business may be, the benefits of attending a trade show likely outweigh the reasons not to attend. Beyond finding new products and special deals, these conferences are designed to offer retail owners, buyers and managers opportunities to build relationships with current vendors and sales reps, network with other retailers and attend seminars and presentations to discover ways to do business better.
Additional reasons to attend physical trade shows:
Identify trends or themes
Meet members of the press that cover your industry (which may result in publicity opportunities for your business).
Gather ideas for store displays. Vendors put great effort into presenting their showrooms and booths in attention-getting ways. Take inspiration! (And notes and pictures)
Find new departments or product categories that could expand your retail offerings. (More on this topic later in this post.)
For 2024, I have two observations to share.
I have received more inquiries about which trade shows to attend than ever.
Some retailers are skipping the early 2024 shows, opting for summer shows.
Let’s address the latter first…