Aperza Co., Ltd., which provides internet services specializing in the manufacturing industry, announced the results of a “Survey on the actual state of exhibitions in the manufacturing industry” on July 28, 2020. The survey period is from June 8th to 14th, 2020. We received responses from 1,344 Aperza service users and email subscribers.
This survey revealed the current participation status and future participation intentions for exhibitions that have been canceled or postponed due to the spread of the new coronavirus.
More than 90% of exhibition participants participate in market trend research.
First, when asked about the purpose of participating in the exhibition, the most common response (95.6%) was “market trend research, regular information gathering.” Next, 87.9% said they would “ask directly for detailed explanations from exhibiting companies,” and 86.0% said they would look at specific companies and products. It has become clear that it is being used not only to collect a wide range of information such as market trends, but also to collect detailed information on specific companies and products.
In addition, around 50% of respondents participated for purposes other than information gathering, such as “reviewing the products and suppliers they currently use” and “greeting with related parties,” meaning they participate in exhibitions for multiple purposes. I’ve started to see that.
70% of trades triggered by exhibitions are due to awareness of the company/services before participating in the exhibition
Next, we asked respondents who had participated in exhibitions in the past whether they had made any transactions as a result of exhibitions. 74.3% of participants answered that they had made a transaction, and more than 70% of participants had made a transaction as a result of the exhibition.
Additionally, among respondents who had done business with them, 41.4% said “This is a company or product that I had been paying attention to before participating,” and 41.4% said “This is a company or product that I had been aware of but had not paid attention to.” Together with 30.9%, it became clear that more than 70% of participants were aware of the company and products before the exhibition.
More than 60% of exhibition participation will be resumed by next spring.
The actual status of participation in past exhibitions has been revealed, but what is the intention to participate during the coronavirus pandemic?
When asked about when the ban on participating in exhibitions will be resumed or lifted, 78.4% of respondents said they would “participate when the ban is lifted.” Regarding the specific period, 30.7% of respondents said that this fall (September to November 2020) was the highest. More than 60% have expressed their intention to participate by next spring (March-May 2021).
More than 90% of people are motivated to participate in online exhibitions
Lastly, we asked about online exhibitions, which are attracting attention as a means of preventing infection. 93.5% of respondents said they “want to participate in (or are considering)” an online exhibition, indicating that more than 90% of respondents were eager to participate.
When asked what they thought could be replaced online among respondents who were eager to participate in online exhibitions, the most common answer was “attending seminars, lectures, etc.” at 79.4%. On the other hand, 47.9% said “Listen to detailed explanations directly from exhibiting companies,” which accounted for more than 80% of the purpose of the exhibition mentioned above, and 55.4% said “See specific companies and products,” which accounts for approximately half of the respondents. seem to find it difficult to replace collecting detailed information on companies and services.
This survey revealed the intention to participate in both physical and online manufacturing industry exhibitions. It will take some time until next spring to participate in the real world, but there is a strong desire to participate online. At online exhibitions, it is difficult to provide detailed information about companies and products and conduct business negotiations like in real-life exhibitions, so making use of communication tools is essential to the success of exhibitions.