International Home + Housewares Show 2020 | What to Expect for Exhibitors

Trade shows are a great way to gain exposure for your business and create valuable relationships in your industry. If you’re in the home and housewares products industry, the International Home + Housewares Show 2020 is the place to be. This spectacular show combines art, engineering, technology and style in showcasing industry innovation and the latest trends.

Attending the International Home + Housewares Show 2020 gives you an opportunity to join the world’s largest industry audience to connect and share ideas about the future of the industry. Find out more about the International Home + Housewares Show, and see why it’s the most important event for your homewares business.

About the International Housewares Association

The International Housewares Association, or IHA, is an organization designed to maximize the success of the home and housewares products industry for its membership. The IHA provides a world-class home products marketplace to connect buyers and sellers and showcase products, facilitate global commerce and increase consumer awareness and interest in home products.

The IHA also gathers and spreads essential intelligence on marketplace trends through industry tools like the State of the Industry Report, IHA Gourmet Home and Housewares MarketWatch.

About the Show

The International Home + Housewares Show is a vital trade show for home and housewares products professionals to showcase new home products, access cutting-edge educational seminars and gain insight into business practices and trends that are shaping the industry.

The show features over 2,200 exhibitors from over 45 countries and more than 60,000 attendees from over 125 countries.

The International Home + Housewares Show takes place March 14-17, 2020, at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois.

Show Expos

To maximize your experience at the show, the IHA has separated product categories into show-within-a-show expos covering a wide range of information.

The categories for the show expos are:

• Dine + Décor Expo. The Dine + Décor Expo features products for personalizing the home with decorative and functional products for serving meals with flair. It includes product categories like cookware and bakeware, kitchen accessories, food storage, spice racks, textiles, cookbooks, bar accessories, dinnerware, flatware, glassware, candles, decorative accents, picture frames and lighting. There’s also a cooking theater with celebrity chefs demonstrating their unique culinary techniques.
• Discover Design Expo. The Discover Design Expo features trendsetting products that differentiate unique homes from the masses. During this expo, you can source high-quality, design-forward concepts from product categories across the world. There’s also Design Debut, a showcase for emerging products that helps you be the first to get in on the hot new trends. All buyers are invited to attend the Toast to Trends Reception, an event to celebrate the latest in design, trends and innovation with live entertainment, refreshments and networking.
• Clean + Contain Expo. The Clean + Contain Expo features innovative, stylish organization and storage products that streamline the home and contribute to its aesthetic. You can see products in categories like cleaning and hardware, bath accessories, home organization, pet supplies, clothing care, outdoor living, luggage and furniture. There’s also Inventors Corner, a showcase with inventors displaying their debut products and fresh ideas.
• Wired + Well Expo. The Wired + Well Expo features technology designed to make the consumer’s life easier and more convenient. You can see a vast collection of devices that simplify daily tasks related to the kitchen, personal care, the home environment, energy conservation, floor and carpet care and major appliances.
• International Sourcing Expo. The International Sourcing Expo showcases value-driven pavilions from China and Taiwan.

Housewares Industry Education

The IHA is dedicated to providing members with the best education to stay ahead of industry trends and challenges. For the show, the IHA prepares and organizes educational events and sessions covering a wide variety of industry verticals, including:

• Gourmet Home. This event brings independent retailers, suppliers and manufacturers together to share tools and information to support the growth of the gourmet trade industry. Topics include Meal Kits and Online Grocery Shopping, Top Cheese and Retailing Outdoors.

Tips for Exhibiting at International Home + Housewares Show

Exhibiting at a trade show can be a great experience, but it also represents a significant expense for your business. If you want to get the most out of your money, resources and time, you should strategically plan your event to get the leads you need to grow your business.

Here’s how to ensure you have a successful plan for your trade show exhibit:

• Set clear goals for your trade show experience. Before planning your trade show outing, be sure to outline your goals. What do you hope to gain from the show? How many attendees do you want to draw in, and how many leads do you want to generate? What products do you want to showcase? Are you launching a product or promoting your business? Once you have the answers to these questions, you can develop a clear plan to reach your goals and measure your success.
• Do your research. The IHA show is huge, so you won’t be able to attend all the seminars, expos and networking events. You’ll want to maximize your time by putting yourself in reach of your target audience. Focus on the expos and educational events that are most likely to include your target customers so you can put all your attention on those most likely to buy.
• Budget and register for your space. When you register for the show, be sure to find out all you can about your space, such as its location on the floor, other exhibitors near you, the typical traffic in the area and what’s included in the space, such as lighting.
• Plan your exhibit. The last thing you want is a cluttered booth. To plan your exhibit, decide on who you want to reach and what products, demonstrations and promotional materials are best suited to their needs. If you’re targeting multiple audiences, consider the best products to launch or showcase to reach a wide variety of attendees.
• Advertise well in advance. Trade show promotion should start months in advance. Promote your attendance on social media, your website, in press releases and through email blasts to ensure that your customers have time to plan. You may be able to get the attendees list from the show as well, which will give you some company information for reaching out on social media and planning some meetings during the event.
• Engage on social media. Find out the Twitter hashtag for the event and your product category. Use social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram to share your trade show exhibit information, drum up anticipation for your giveaways or product launches and share behind-the-scenes tidbits like your team packing for the event or show meetings.
• Draw the crowd. Use an interactive display, such as a game, contest or raffle, to draw people’s interest to your booth. Giving away prizes through raffles or contests is a great way to collect information about visitors and encourage more traffic to your booth.
• Bring promotional materials. Make sure you devote enough of your budget to an array of promotional materials. You should have order forms, business cards, price sheets, brochures, flyers and more that you can hand out to visitors to ensure you stay in their minds. You might even consider a flash drive with product demonstrations or company information if you’re in a tech-focused industry sector.
• Keep staff at your booth. At a show, you’ll want to attend networking events and educational seminars, so it’s important to make sure that your booth is never empty. When you’re preparing for the show, ensure you have enough team members attending the show to man the booth the entire time the show is open and greet visitors to engage them with your business.
• Send your best and brightest. Trade show staff often includes the newcomers, which could backfire for your business. New employees may not know as much about your business, may not be able to answer questions from visitors and may not feel as confident in engaging with visitors as a more experienced employee. You should bring both experienced employees and a few new ones to give them a chance to learn for future trade shows.

In addition to these tips, you can also use our Trade Show Preparation Guide to make sure you position your business for success.

Prepare for Your Exhibit With Xibit Solutions

The International Home + Housewares Show is the premier trade show for the home and housewares products industry. If you’re planning to attend the International Home + Housewares Show 2020, Xibit Solutions can help you craft an incredible booth experience to make the most of your time. From customized graphics to start-to-finish booth experiences, our talented professionals can guide you through every aspect of your trade show exhibit to ensure you get the most for your investment. Contact Xibit Solutions to request a quote, and let us handle the hard work while you focus on your business.