Finding the positives
Explori MD Sophie Holt guides us through some of the highlights of the new UFI Global Recovery Insights survey which shows some positive indicators for rapid recovery of the exhibition industry
he second phase of the Global Recovery Insights Study , conducted by Explori , in partnership with UFI and supported by SISO , took place in the spring of 2021 , tracking and recording the views of over 15,000 trade show visitors and exhibitors in order to understand the changing exhibition market through the pandemic . It is the biggest global study ever undertaken . Here we share the findings which sought to understand the impact of the hiatus in live events and how customers felt about returning .
The impact of the pandemic on our customers The picture is positive for visitors with numbers wanting to participate in trade shows at similar levels to 2018 , and more than half keen to
Below : The expected frequency of participation among visitors
100 % 90 % 80 % 70 % 60 % 50 % 40 % 30 % 20 % 10 % 0 %
Much less frequently ( 1 )
3 % 13 % 8 %
A little less frequently ( 2 )
9 % participate with the same frequency or more frequently , suggesting organic growth is again possible .
Broadly , the challenges exhibitors faced last summer , namely generating leads , brand exposure and networking , have continued . The proportion of exhibitors reporting an impact on sales in their business is markedly down at 30 % in Q2 of 2021 , compared to 46 % in the same period last year , suggesting that to a certain extent , exhibitors have been able to find other channels to drive their revenue .
Among exhibitors , their appetite for live events is returning , with 62 % of respondents indicating they are keen to exhibit at the same or greater number of shows in future , not far below the levels seen in 2019 ( 61 %). This puts us back towards a stable position in-terms of participation
50 % 68 % 45 %
23 % 7 % 20 %
As frequently ( 3 )
2018 Q2 2020
A little more frequently ( 4 )
16 %
11 %
Below : Predicted changes to marketing spend
Trade shows
Much more frequently ( 4 )
-41% -50%
Q2 2021
* Scores in circles are calculated as an average out of five for each time we have asked this question
4 % 6 % 16 %
Internal events
0 % -1%
-35% -42%
Digital events
-4% 2 %
Other marketing channels
Q2 2020 Q2 2021
from our existing exhibitor pool .
10 % 0 % -10 % -20 % -30 % -40 % -50 % -60 %
Budget cuts Swingeing cuts were feared and expected . In 2020 , 53 % of exhibitors expected the worst when it came to their trade show budgets , fearing budgets would fall by 50 % or more . But in 2021 the picture is more optimistic with the percentage of exhibitors predicting they would see the biggest budget cuts dropping back to 18 %.
Reassuringly , 53 % of exhibitors report their budgets are likely to be back to normal in 2021 .
Are quality shows protected ? Exhibitors needing to make savings reported that the most common way they would try to do this is to reduce the number of shows they participate in .
Exhibitors planning to attend fewer events are not looking to cut their spend at the events they do continue to support and shows that are valued by exhibitors are relatively protected . Exhibitors are selecting shows based on previous good experiences and those they perceive to attract high quality visitors . Interestingly , the pandemic has caused exhibitors to view visitor numbers as being relatively less important now than visitor quality .
A third of exhibitors making savings plan to reduce their stand
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 4 2021 49