Hundreds of visitors logged on to the UK’s first virtual trade show, Virtual Petindex, over its two live days from 14-15 June. The online event, organised by the Pet Industry Federation, was the first of its kind for the UK pet industry and was sponsored by eBay UK Ltd.
Visitors had the opportunity to browse over 60 stands from the UK and overseas, from countries such as Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland; and to watch webinars in the ‘auditorium’, which was packed throughout the live show days with talks, panel discussions and grooming demonstrations.
Visitors can continue to access the Virtual Petindex platform to browse stands and watch the webinars for the next 30 days. Exhibitors will therefore continue to benefit from being on the platform even though the live show has ended.
In addition, each exhibitor has also received a detailed breakdown of the visitors who visited their stand over the course of the live event; and will receive a full report and visitor analysis tailored to their stand, once the platform closes completely on 15 July.
Nigel Baker, Chief Executive of the Pet Industry Federation, said: ‘We have been really pleased with the success of Virtual Petindex and the support shown to the event by exhibitors who threw their weight behind this inaugural trade show. The experience has been a huge learning curve for us, as well as the exhibitors, and although it was not without some teething issues, the cost-effectiveness of this type of show, and the detailed information gained from visitors to the show will ensure that the virtual trade show has a strong future.
There are clear differences between a virtual trade show and a traditional one, and whilst a virtual trade show can’t replace many of the networking and social opportunities that a traditional show does, we do believe that a virtual show can offer a new type of marketing opportunity, with an excellent return on investment. Many exhibitors believe this too and have already confirmed that they would like to take part in another event.’
Peter Roy, Natures Menu said: ‘Obviously we were disappointed to not have a face conference, but given the circumstances I thought the event went well, it was my first virtual conference, but probably not my last. We had over 350 requests for information, many from new customers. We are going through the opportunities now, and already opened up 8 new stores and over 20 freezer deals so far with more to follow I am sure.’
Mark Hirschel, HOWND said: ‘Two thumbs up to the team at PIF for successfully creating the UK's first virtual pet trade event. It can't be easy being the first ones to jump into something so new and there's no doubt that the world of virtual shows is here to stay and will only get better. We really had no idea what to expect so was great to hear that we were the third most visited stand over the two days. The chat function worked well and although the video option wasn't used, I can see how it will become more commonplace going forward. We are now following up with all our stand visitors and feel positive that we were able to achieve our initial goals of creating sales and raising brand visibility.
David Alton, Little Big Paw – ‘Virtual Petindex proved to be a really interesting, novel and valuable experience. The information we have received about visitors to our stand has been really detailed and we can use it to follow up on with individuals and generate new business. We had more visitors to our virtual stand than we would have at any other show, so the return on investment is likely to be excellent therefore, and we look forward to taking part in a future event.’
The next Virtual Petindex event will be held on 11-12 October 2020, with great rates on offer for businesses who sign up early. To secure your place and find out more, please email Daniel.everett@petfederation.co.uk
To visit the existing show platform, browse the stands or watch webinars, please visit https://vpetindex.vfairs.com