It’s showtime!
The Inspired Home Show returns to Chicago’s McCormick Place this week (March 4-7) at a critical juncture in the pursuit of new growth by the home and housewares business.
Plans for back-half programs should begin to firm up during and after the show for an industry that, after riding a big wave of demand during the pandemic, saw an inevitable slowdown in 2022 compounded by economic headwinds. That’s all the more reason that 2023 marks a new starting point for renewed growth by suppliers and retailers that can cultivate differentiated programs driven by what figures to be the biggest crop of new product rollouts and commensurate marketing campaigns since before the pandemic.
Active winter domestic and global trade shows signal a busy Inspired Home Show, which will be considerably larger at more than 1,600 exhibitors than the 2022 event that marked the show’s return after three years because of the pandemic. The 2022 show was heralded as a highly productive event by exhibitors and what turned out to be a bounty of retailers, many of whom were released from corporate travel restrictions just prior to the early March show.
That the 2022 show was smaller than usual contributed to the high satisfaction of buyers and sellers participants who relished the extra face time. The opportunity now for retailers, considering the 2023 show’s expanding exhibitor base, is to balance their schedules on the exhibit floor, holding meetings with key vendors while leaving plenty of time for the kind of new vendor and product discovery that can really cement the value of attending the show.
Embracing the opportunity presented by Inspired Home Show to renew relationships while cultivating new possibilities can make a big difference in what will be a critical year for the home and housewares business.
See you in Chicago.
