J. G. Navarro
Research expert covering advertising and marketing with a focus on South America
Get in touch with us nowThe state of trade shows in the U.S.
The United States is home to a significant number of trade shows worldwide. In 2021, the U.S. trade show industry generated a revenue of over 6.5 billion U.S. dollars and thereby accounted for 10 of the global total. In terms of distribution, nearly half of the revenue from U.S. trade shows comes from registrations, with another quarter attributed to exhibit sales. Thanks to digital innovation, immersive offerings, and an overall focus on entertainment, the U.S. exhibition industry has seen year-over-year revenue growth for several decades. Considering that trade fairs were often labeled as outdated in the past, these steps have certainly helped to revive this marketing format and transform traditional networking events into unique experiences.Depending on the event, the number of exhibitors at large trade shows in the U.S. has either remained stable or seen an increase in recent years. In early 2022, the exhibitions industry in the U.S. was still showing signs of going through a recovery phase, where the attendance numbers compared to those from early 2019 were experiencing negative growth. The same was true for the number of exhibitors. Yet, clearly the trade show business is bouncing back as marketers and exhibitors are increasing the number of events they attend in a year. The majority of industry professionals are confident about the future of trade shows, and this optimism also translates into companies’ trade show budgets.
