If trade shows are part of your event mix, your trade show strategy should consider the latest trends and insights and how they might affect your planning. What are your peers doing to make these events worth their while? What’s new and exciting in the trade show industry?
The following trade show statistics can give you more insight into:
- Trade show planning
- Trade show costs
- Trade show ROI
- Virtual trade shows
- The future of trade shows
With this trade show data in hand, you can make your case to stakeholders about the benefits of hosting and participating in these types of events.
Trade show planning statistics
Planning a trade show requires a substantial amount of time, energy, and resources. In addition to all the typical needs of an event, you also need to design your event layout and exhibitor spaces to maximize the impact for each exhibitor, sponsor, and attendee.
Between the scope, cost, and logistics of these types of events, your stakeholders might be wondering: are trade shows worth it? The following trade show statistics show what these events can offer you and your business:
- Trade shows are the second most effective marketing tactic for generating leads, after company websites.
- 88% of businesses exhibit at trade shows to raise awareness for their brand or new products and services.
- 90% of exhibitors said they find in-person events enable them to keep up with industry trends.
- 79% of exhibitors value the professional networking opportunities of being on site.
- 93% of exhibitors believe that quality of leads is the most important outcome of events they attend.
- 79% of exhibitors plan to attend the same number of events or more in the next year.
- 67% of exhibitors see trade shows as an effective way to generate sales.
- 81% of trade show attendees have buying authority.
- 92% of trade show attendees are looking for new products.
- 52% of attendees are more likely to visit a booth if a giveaway or freebie is offered.
- 90% of expo attendees have not met face-to-face with any companies exhibiting at the show in the 12 months prior to the event.
- The average attendee at a trade show spends 5.5 hours at the event.
- Event professionals planned to participate in an average of 42.4 regional trade shows throughout 2024 compared to an average of less than 30 trade shows per year from 2019-2023.
The value of planning trade shows
Basically, you can get out of a trade show what you put into it. Trade show planning stats show that exhibiting at a trade show can be very worth your time in terms of brand recognition and quality leads.
To make the most of that opportunity, your trade show strategy should include having your newest and best products and services on display. You may also consider a variety of trade show giveaway ideas and other incentives. Doing so will compel more attendees and potential leads to visit your booth.
Another benefit of trade shows is the opportunity for in-person networking. Such events allow you to nurture existing professional relationships and form new connections that can be mutually beneficial. They can also help you stay on top of what your competitors might be doing.
Trade show costs
Next to planning and logistics, you need to factor in the costs of hosting or exhibiting at a trade show. Your trade show budget is what stakeholders will focus on most. The following statistics show the common kinds and typical ranges of trade show costs you can expect.
- 12.7% of annual marketing program budgets are spent on the events you attend.
- 75% of exhibitors face pressure to reduce exhibit costs, with 31% feeling strong pressure from senior leadership.
- About 14% of a trade show budget goes toward travel and lodging expenses for employees.
- The average cost to ship booth materials and products to a trade show ranges from $2,000 to $5,000.
- For each trade show, the average cost to staff a booth ranges from $2,500 to $5,000.
- The average total cost of an exhibit ranges from $10,000 to $30,000 per booth.
- Exhibitors spend an average of 31.6% of their total marketing budgets on trade shows.
- The average cost to attend a trade show is $600 to $1,000 per person.
- In 2024, about 42% of U.S. event marketers reported their exhibit-marketing budgets as staying the same as in 2023, while 34% saw an increase and 19% a decrease.
Determining your trade show costs
Let’s face it, the overall cost of hosting and participating in a trade show can be expensive. The exact cost is dependent on numerous factors, including things like the location of a show relative to your location, travel and accommodations needed, size of the show, the intricacy and size of your booth or event setup, the amount of staffing required, any materials needed to transport on site, and so much more.
Of course, cost isn’t the be-all and end-all. No matter how much you save or spend on your trade shows, you still need to be able to prove the success of your trade shows by demonstrating a solid ROI.
Trade show ROI statistics
You’ll spend a good amount of time, money, and other resources to host or exhibit at a trade show, which means it’s up to you to demonstrate how your trade show performance measures up to your predicted ROI. In other words, was it all worth it?
Your trade show ROI is measurable as leads generated, direct sales, and ticketing revenue, but there could be other intangible benefits, as well, such as newly formed connections and increased brand awareness.
- Planners agree that measuring an event’s success depends on several factors, the most important of which include total cost (34%), attendance (31%), attendee engagement (28%), ROI (28%), and positive attendee feedback (27%).
- In 2024, the value of the U.S. B2B trade show market reached more than $15.5 billion.
- 72% of attendees are more likely to buy from exhibitors they meet at trade shows.
- 51% of attendees request a follow-up visit from a sales representative post-event.
- 67% of trade show attendees represent a new prospect and potential customer for exhibiting companies.
- 46% of attendees are in the final stages of their buying decision.
- 91% of attendees report receiving the most useful buying information from trade shows.
- On average, trade shows contribute 33% of a company’s new business annually.
- 94% of marketers believe their company fails to convert event leads into opportunities.
- 72% of exhibitors attend trade shows for lead generation.
- The average cost per lead generated at a trade show is $112.
- Meeting a prospect face-to-face at a trade show event costs about $142 per meeting. This is less than the $250 it costs to meet a prospect at their office.
- It is 38% less expensive to convert a trade show lead than it is to rely on sales calls alone.
- 14% of Fortune 500 companies reported a 5:1 ROI from exhibiting at trade shows (in other words, earning $5 for every $1 spent).
Measuring your trade show ROI
There are so many opportunities to achieve a high trade show ROI—you just need to begin with the right goals and KPIs in mind. Attendees make an effort to go to trade shows to get information, and they want to make buying decisions. Because of that, trade show statistics show that you can spend less to get qualified leads at trade shows than through other sales efforts.
However, it’s still up to your team to take those leads and turn them into full-blown customers. It is this process and skillset that appears to be one of the greatest challenges for businesses that use trade shows as a marketing and sales tool. It is also one that can easily be helped with the use of the right trade show software and technology.
Then, of course, there’s non-financial ROI. Even if you don’t get a whole lot of immediate, direct sales, trade shows can still aid your company when it comes to brand recognition and building trust. It is up to you and your stakeholders to determine if this type of ROI should be factored into your trade show success, and how much.
Virtual trade show statistics
While trade shows are often held as in-person events, statistics show that there are still prime opportunities for hybrid or virtual trade shows.
- The global virtual events market was valued at $78.53 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at an 18.8% CAGR through 2030.
- In 2019, the virtual tradeshow conference software market was valued at $77.98 billion, with a projected growth rate of 23.2% annually from 2020 to 2027.
- 63% of event organizers plan to invest more in virtual events in 2025.
- 87% of those organizing large trade shows opt for virtual event platforms that have virtual sponsorship booth capabilities.
- 95% of exhibitors prefer in-person to virtual events.
Are virtual trade shows worth it?
Short answer? Yes!
When it comes to exhibitor preference, face-to-face events are where it’s at, but there’s clearly still very high value when it comes to virtual trade shows. They make it easy for exhibitors to monitor attendance and capture leads. Plus, the use of virtual trade show software can only help to expand attendance when in-person access is a challenge or when breaking into a new market.
The future of trade shows and trends for 2025
Wondering what the future holds for trade shows? Check out these trade show trends for 2025 and how the events industry in general is shaping this space.
- 89% of planners expect in-person onsite and offsite meetings to increase 11-20% in 2025 compared to 2024.
- 37% of businesses in the U.S. plan to increase their trade show budgets in the coming year.
- The top two concerns for meetings and events in 2025 are costs (30%) and staying within budget (31%).
- Exhibitors foresee cost-related challenges in the next few years, with 68% expecting internal budget pressure and 66% anticipating high exhibit costs as a major external challenge.
- Even though 74% of surveyed professionals expect costs to increase next year, 70% of event planners believe budgets will rise to meet that change.
- The value of the U.S. trade show market is projected to surpass $17.3 billion by 2028.
Planning for the future of trade shows
You can expect to see more trade shows and other events planned in 2025 and beyond. Trade show costs will continue to rise, which is a big concern for everyone in the industry, but there’s hope for planners’ and marketers’ budgets.
To justify rising event costs and an increased budget, you will need to focus even more on metrics and ROI. You’ll need effective trade show lead capture tools in place, as well as the capability to measure lead generation, brand awareness, and customer retention as they relate to specific events. Stakeholders will demand this kind of information before making any future budgetary decisions.
Building trade shows into your events strategy
If your trade show ROI is good, you may consider a sales and marketing plan based on event-led growth (ELG), using trade shows and other events to drive sales and build your business.
At the same time, you don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket. So, you’ll want to balance your trade show efforts with a multichannel marketing plan that includes additional event types, social media strategy, etc. that speaks to other potential leads and customers.
Finally, and most especially, companies that exhibit at trade shows need to find better ways to generate and convert leads. After all, if you aren’t nurturing leads you get at a trade show and turning them into customers, then what’s the point?
While there are certainly challenges, what all of these trade show statistics show is that trade shows work. They offer ripe opportunities to build your business. It’s up to you to make the most of them; and with the right trade show tools and strategy, you can.
