In an age where almost every aspect of life has gone digital (most recently work and school), trade shows seem to be one thing where you simply have to be there - literally. The has lead trade fair organizers to explore a range of alternatives to live shows.Experimenting with Alternative Trade Show FormatsEven China, which has been a pioneer in B2C livestreaming, has struggled to make its virual B2B trade fairs a success.Its massive Canton fair went virtual this spring, supported by virtual architecture built by Tencent Holdings Ltd featuring live streaming, translation and conferencing technology. In other words, it had the benefit of a state-of-the-art platform built by the same company that developed WeChat.Attention, PleaseExhibitors found that catching and holding the attention of visitors was much more challenging than at a live event.While there was a lot of visitor traffic at the virtual event, Lilian Ho, a manager of Wenzhou Steed International Industry Co. Ltd. told Bloomberg that it was more difficult to get in touch with the clients compared with the old model.Privacy regulations made it difficult for exhibitors to get the email addresses of visitors had come to their virtual booths. Another reason that there is a need to find better alternatives to substitute for live shows.Sensory DeprivationThere are other issues too. When it comes to fabric and yarn, buyers told Inside Fashion that being able to touch and feel the product is really important.Trade shows are very sensory in nature,” Cathy Breden, CEO at Center for Exhibition Industry Research told Crains.Walking a show has always been a good way for buyers to stumble upon new suppliers. The best fairs combine their own trend forums with the eye catching booths of top exhibitors to create an atmosphere that inspires creativity and helps drive the next season's collections.So far this aspect has been difficult to simulate online.No event can be entirely digital – most will require a physical setting in which the action, be it product showcase, seminar or interview, take place. And the quality of that context in terms of function and aesthetics will still play a critical role in the success of the presentation, according to a review of virtual trade fairs on Frame.Seeking SolutionsAs organizers struggle to find new dates to hold previously cancelled fairs, and then face another round of cancellations, its clear that a new solution is needed.Most agreed that completely virtual events are not the answer. Thus they continue to explore alternatives to live shows.Another issue is time zones. No matter what timing the team chose, some participants would find it inconvenient.While pre-recording seminars and presentations and offering it on demand has been a typical workaround, it relies on buyers taking the time to login.Often time best intentions never happen because other distractions take over.At a physical fair, buyers have made the commitment to be there and thus during that time they are focused on visiting stands and attending seminars.When people talk about why they still value physical events, what they often cite is the way in which trade shows help them build business-critical relationships.Now, as the lockdowns are being lifted and people are starting to migrate back to public places (albeit with healthy safety precautions in place), organizers are testing hybrid events that is part live and part virtual.New strategy: Smaller, boutique-like domestic or regional fairs. This makes it possible to implement health precautions. It also addresses the problem of travel bans that make it impossible to draw foreign visitors. Who's Doing This: Taking the lead, SPINEXPO will host a smaller version of its international fairs in Hong Kong on July 30-31, with smaller group of select spinners.Munch Fabric Start will scale down its September fair to 300-400 exhibitors, axing many of the other offerings that are typically part of its semi-annual event. The new event will be called FabricDays and take place from September 1-3.Pulling from the ArchivesThe shift harkens back to the days before massive international travel was commonplace. Then, there were more shows but each was smaller.That allowed fairs to be more targeted towards a specific market. For exhibitors, that started to mean exhibiting at more fairs. The aggregation of smaller fairs into larger fairs gave exhibitors an opportunity to reach a wider audience. At the same time, it diluted the focus of the fair.For many exhibitors, seeing more visitors had little benefit if those visitors were not potential buyers for the kind of products they sold.Buyers faced the same challenge. A bigger more comprehensive fair meant the opportunity to see more products, but also was a distraction from the core products that they were their to buy.Looking ahead, we think that niche fairs are likely to be the winners.Even post pandemic, companies will want to curtail costly travel budgets. At the same time, niche fairs bring together a well edited group of buyers and exhibitors. Both are there to do business.Large fairs will have role in providing buyers with an overview of the market. For exhibitors, this is likely to lead to more contacts, but fewer serious buyers.In an evolving market, trade fairs, like other sectors will find the right way to reinvent themselves to meet market demands.