Fashion

How e-commerce is affecting tradeshows


E-commerce is the buzzwords on the industry’s lips right now, with so many
brick-and-mortar stores closing and longstanding retail institutions,
namely department stores, investing heavily into their e-commerce and
digital operations. For independent retailers and small shops, trade shows
have been a way to discover new brands outside of the mainstream. For
independent brands it was a way to get new accounts and begin to grow their
business.

However, like with virtually most industries at this point, the internet
era has changed what trade shows used to be. This season at Project and
Market, vendors were able to pick up new accounts, but many acknowledge the
decline in foot traffic. “Traffic has been slower than normal and slower
than anticipated for us this season,” said Zach Gross, account manager at 7
For All Mankind, to FashionUnited. “Likewise, a lot of stuff can get
accomplished digital, whether it’s appointments or showroom appointments,
e-commerce is definitely a point of emphasis for a lot of partners and
competitors.”

How e-commerce is affecting tradeshows

Trade shows are figuring out how to respond to e-commerce

Gross said that recently he has been seeing more e-commerce buyers at the
trade shows and companies who are pitching a drop-ship type of model.
Emphasis on digital platforms has grown, although brands, like 7 For All
Mankind, continue to put emphasis on both digital and brick-and-mortar.
“Brick-and-mortar isn’t going to die out from a retail perspective,” Gross
said to FashionUnited. “The issue with department stores is how do you get
the customer back. Is it with activations? Is it with customer experience?”

Kristin Deluca, account executive at Ted Baker for men’s sportswear, shared
some of Gross’s sentiments. “Trade show’s traffic has become a little
slower because these smaller stores are not able to maybe buy as much as
they want to in the past because shoppers are shopping online,” she said to
FashionUnited. “They have to cut their budgets because people are shopping
elsewhere.”

Deluca says she has seen more buyers from e-commerce only channels, but
currently Ted Baker keeps a very tight distribution online and are looking
to keep that tight distribution. The company is looking to eventually
expand that online distribution to other stores, compared to a few select
stores right now.

How e-commerce is affecting tradeshows

In contrast, some brands have felt no negative affects from e-commerce.
Velvet by Graham Spencer says they have seen growth in their e-commerce
segment, but it has had no affect on their brick-and-mortar sales. The
brand’s business model is unique from other vendors in that they are
primarily showroom and appointment based, so they only bring so many brands
to the trade show.

This season the brand was able to take on more accounts than they had in
the past, and most of them were brick-and-mortar. “For us it’s more about
trying to attracting an elevated customer, rather than trying to be mass,”
said Francisco Hernandez, sales manager for Velvet Graham, to
FashionUnited. Companies with more exclusive products still stand to
benefit from trade shows from buyers looking to a more elevated clientele
who still shop brick-and-mortar.

Although trade shows might not be seeing the traffic they used to, they
still prove to be an integral part of the retail business. Trade show
organizers will need to take more of an emphasis on courting e-commerce
buyers in the future, and vendors will also need to respond accordingly by
widening their online distribution.

photos: courtesy of Agentry PR



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