Trade shows have always been a big factor in the success of many businesses. They are so important, in fact, that people have spent a lot of time deconstructing the science of what goes into a successful trade show. For vendors and the event hosts, trade show success has been measured by simple metrics. For vendors, the amount of sales generated at a trade show was always thought to be the most important factor. For the industry or event space, number of attendees has always been the number they look to as an indicator. As trade shows have been analyzed, however, it has been determined that these might not be the best long term indicators of a trade show’s success. These quantitative factors may not be the only measures of the quality of a trade show. For example, how does a business measure how effectively it communicated the message of its brand at the trade show? One way that vendors and hosts are finding to measure the long-term effectiveness of the event is by tracking the leads that are generated. These leads can lead to long-term sales that dwarf the figures accumulated at the actual event. Companies are providing the events and the individuals themselves with tools, like a tradeshow badge scanner, that allows this long term success to be tracked by scanning the badges or bar codes of attendees and potential customers.

Of course, the more people in attendance, the more leads can be tracked. For that reason, attendance is still a crucial factor in an event’s success. Here are a few industry trade shows that are generating a lot of attendance and thus a lot of sales and leads for the show’s attendees.

CES

CES is the name given to the major technology industry trade show. It is hosted annually, in early January in Las Vegas by the Consumer Technology Association. Held over the course of several days, CES is an international trade show that combines all aspects of consumer technology. There are over 3,000 exhibitors at this trade show and it is attended by roughly a hundred thousand people. Among the tech industries and products that are on display at CES are video games, video and audio products and even drones. The CES trade show is truly the place to go for the very latest advances in an industry that is known for its rapid pace of innovation.

Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market

The Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market is held annually. As its title conveys, it is held in Atlanta and is a showcase for the latest trends and products in the gift and home furnishings sector. Last year, it had over 2,000 exhibitors and registered an attendance figure of nearly 90,000. The event is hosted by AmericasMart Atlanta. Among those who attend the event are buyers from small, medium and large retailers, designers, event planners, buying groups and media members and bloggers covering the home furnishings and gift industries.