Trade shows can deliver major commercial returns, but companies risk wasting the opportunity if they attend without a clear strategy, Gary Shapiro argues after more than three decades working in the industry.
Shapiro, who ran CES in Las Vegas for more than 30 years, says exhibitors should define their objectives, choose events carefully, prepare their staff and measure results after the show rather than simply rent space and wait for visitors.
He says the most successful companies treat trade shows as far more than rows of exhibition stands. Major events operate simultaneously as marketplaces, media platforms, conferences, product launches, networking opportunities and sources of competitive intelligence.
CES has attracted more than 150,000 business attendees in recent editions, including more than 55,000 international visitors from around 140 countries, regions and territories. The event has also drawn 6,000 members of the media and 4,000 exhibitors.
Attendees report an average of 29 meetings, while 68% say they make new clients or business contacts. That amounts to an average of nine new contacts per attendee.
Shapiro says the scale of the trade show industry makes the limited attention given to it striking. About 13,000 business-to-business trade shows are held each year in the United States, attracting millions of professionals and thousands of exhibitors.
The 100 largest shows in 2025 accounted for more than 100,000 exhibitors across 41 million net square feet of exhibition space. The trade show and exhibition industry generated $16.5 billion in direct spending during the same year.
Why trade show strategy matters
Despite that investment, trade shows receive less focus than advertising, digital marketing and social media, Shapiro says. Their returns can be more difficult to measure, even though companies commit money, executive attention and substantial staff time to them.
The growth of internet marketing has not removed the value of meeting customers in person. While digital campaigns can track clicks and other activity, a trade show allows a prospective buyer to see a demonstration, ask questions, compare products and meet the people behind a business.
Shapiro says the experience can be particularly valuable after the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic, when relationships were often maintained through screens and video platforms. Executives emerged with a renewed appreciation of being together in the same room, he says.
However, simply appearing at an exhibition does not guarantee results. Companies may rent a stand, reuse an old design, send employees and wait for visitors, creating activity without necessarily achieving their business aims.
Robyn Davis’s book, “Exhibit Smarter”, argues that exhibitors should start planning much earlier. Its advice covers the selection of events, setting objectives, designing stands, generating traffic, staffing teams, training employees and handling problems at shows.
Shapiro says companies should identify the customers and prospects they want to meet, then build the exhibition experience around those goals. The difference between a tactical and strategic approach can be worth millions of dollars to a large company and may determine whether a small one survives, he says.
His experience includes companies that have spent millions at trade shows while achieving little, as well as businesses that invested modestly and produced exceptional results. He says the deciding factor is rarely the cost of the stand.
Shapiro also calls for greater transparency in the way trade shows are assessed as marketing channels. Exhibitors should be able to scrutinise the audiences they reach with the same rigour used to evaluate other forms of media.
He says the growing practice of charging executives for speaking opportunities should also be made clearer. Attendees should know whether a speaker was selected independently for their expertise or whether the opportunity was bought, with paid content clearly separated from editorially curated programming.
Trade shows should not be treated simply as an expense, Shapiro says. With millions of business professionals attending and companies committing billions to take part, he argues that businesses need a clearer framework for judging what these events deliver.
