SHANGHAI – Organizers of Furniture China 2020 have added a digital product showcase to the event to buyers affected by COVID-19 related travel restrictions that would limit their ability to attend the physical event in September.
While the 26th edition of the show will still take place from Sept. 8-12 at the Shanghai New International Export Center, the digital event will allow greater participation, particularly from international buyers who can’t be there in person.
The Digital Trade Show, or DTS, kicks off Aug. 8 and runs through Nov. 8, a three-month window of opportunity for buyers to view product on the online B2B platform JJGLE.com.
Show organizer Shanghai Sinoexpo Informa Markets said that some 1,000 exhibitors have confirmed their participation in DTS and that 5,414 registrations have been received from outside China as of Aug. 3. More are expected in the coming days and weeks.
A virtual showroom will allow exhibitors to provide both photos and videos of their product mix which will be visible as if they were in the showroom. Buyers can sort through various filters to choose the exhibitors whose product assortments they wish to view.
In addition, the platform will be set up to allow online video meetings that provide “real-time and face-to-face communication online at various dates and times. “Exhibitor Live Stream provides as another way of shortening the distance and infusing more human feelings in this virtual place,” the show organizers said in a statement.
“DTS represents the trade show’s resilience in reacting to uncertainty,” they added. “Some are most probably contemplating what actions to take, so that the impacts of the COVID-19 aftermath will be reduced, meanwhile boosting business in the new normal. DTS could be one of the useful tools to stimulate foreign trading.”
For more information on the show, click here.
I’m Tom Russell and have worked at Furniture/Today since August 2003. Since then, I have covered the international side of the business from a logistics and sourcing standpoint. Since then, I also have visited several furniture trade shows and manufacturing plants in Asia, which has helped me gain perspective about the industry in that part of the world. As I continue covering the import side of the business, I look forward to building on that knowledge base through conversations with industry officials and future overseas plant tours. From time to time, I will file news and other industry perspectives online and, as always, welcome your response to these Web postings.
