Trends in the Development of Cloud Exhibitions

An exhibition can be broadly understood as a collective sales event held at a fixed location and time, where enterprises from a specific industry or supply chain gather to showcase and sell products. It is also one of the important ways for companies to promote products, capture industry trends, and conduct cooperation and exchanges.

During the pandemic, traditional offline exhibitions could not be held. To mitigate the impact of the epidemic on the exhibition industry, moving offline exhibitions online has not only become a remedy for breaking through difficulties but also, to a certain extent, a solution to the urgent needs of enterprises.

01 National Policies Encourage Online Exhibitions

Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, recently stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that efforts will be made to strengthen the stability of the industrial chain and explore forms such as online trade fairs and ordering meetings to help enterprises overcome current difficulties. Many regions are actively conducting "cloud exhibitions" to address the impact of the inability to hold offline exhibitions on enterprises and the industry.

The General Office of the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice on innovating exhibition service models and cultivating new momentum for the development of the exhibition industry. It mentioned the need to promote innovation in exhibition formats, actively guide, mobilize, and support enterprises to hold online exhibitions, fully utilize modern information technologies such as 5G, VR/AR, and big data to hold cloud exhibitions, and carry out cloud displays, cloud matchmaking, cloud negotiations, and cloud signings. It also encourages government-sponsored offline exhibitions to take the lead in going online, and supports professional exhibition organizers to open online exhibitions for their offline brand exhibitions.

02 Technology Empowers New Models

Enterprises have moved the business cooperation conducted at offline exhibitions online, creating "cloud exhibitions" that fully realize the functions of traditional exhibitions. With the help of mobile internet and digital technologies, cloud exhibitions extend exhibitions from offline to online, offering exhibitors and visitors a variety of functions such as online product displays, supply-demand matching, online messaging, and social communication.

The realization of cloud exhibitions is inseparable from the application of new technologies such as 5G, live streaming e-commerce, and VR live streaming. In the transition from "face-to-face" to "screen-to-screen," making good use of new technologies not only broadens corporate marketing channels and enhances resilience to risks but also allows exhibition organizers to explore new models for future exhibitions.

All operations of a cloud exhibition are conducted in the cloud. Buyers can choose the exhibits they want to see, interact with exhibitors through live streaming, and even place orders directly on the product pages. Live streaming can be viewed on computers, mobile web pages, and apps. VR technology allows customers to see product details and even factory conditions from their screens. By clicking into a cloud exhibition, visitors can view the full picture of products in a VR sample room, breaking through time and geographical limitations, allowing potential customers to tour factories and experience products and services without leaving home.

03 Cloud Exhibitions Becoming a Global Trend

At the State Council executive meeting held on April 7, it was decided that the 127th Canton Fair would be held online in mid-to-late June, inviting domestic and international buyers to display products online. The Canton Fair venue is known as "Asia's largest modern exhibition center," and this will be the first time in the history of this long-standing trade event that it is held online.

Ren Hongbin, Assistant Minister of Commerce, introduced that this online Canton Fair will mainly include three parts: an online display and matchmaking platform, a cross-border e-commerce zone, and live marketing services. It will create a 10x24-hour online foreign trade platform, providing exhibitors and buyers with services such as online promotion, supply-demand matching, and online negotiation, allowing Chinese and foreign merchants to place orders and do business without leaving home.

Many new product launches hosted by enterprises have also moved from offline to online. The "AI Technology Battle Against the Epidemic" seminar and online exhibition of scientific and technological achievements are innovative forms of online exhibitions. Mobile phone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and Honor have also moved their offline launches to screens, introducing new products through live streaming. The recent International Exhibition Industry Innovation and Development Conference held by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade also adopted an online format.

Online exhibitions are not only a breakthrough for Chinese exhibition institutions and enterprises in the face of the epidemic but also a global trend. At the end of February, Facebook announced that its F8 developer conference, originally scheduled for May in San Jose, California, would be held as an online event. Apple's summer developer conference WWDC will also be held via online live streaming. The pragmatic response of the exhibition industry to the epidemic has also become a major measure for innovative development.

The exhibition industry may have pressed the "pause button," but interconnected innovative services never stop! The special development environment has stimulated the industry's innovation potential. Investment promotion and exhibition services have not only not stalled but are moving towards more convenient and smarter models.