Global Sources Online Show 2020 in numbers

Global Sources’ main objective is to be one of the most competitive drivers of global trade by providing a highly convenient and efficient sourcing channels between global buyers and Asian suppliers. Its biannual trade show in Hong Kong gathers trusted and certified suppliers to meet with potential buyers from around the world in an all-day exhibit of a wide variety of innovative products. To provide a similar experience while keeping buyers and suppliers safe from the pandemic, the company held its very first virtual trade show, Global Sources Online Show in July and August 2020.

With tens of thousands of buyers from 210 countries, hundreds of suppliers and close to a hundred live panels and presentations involved in the event, Global Sources “drew on its proven expertise in trade shows and online sourcing to bring buyers real-time communication with top suppliers and the latest market insights, focused on the product categories in highest demand amid the new priorities of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

In the online event, some 90,432 products from 904 suppliers were showcased for a global audience. Testifying to the quality of the products and the credibility of the suppliers were 140+ live panels, presentations and supplier stories. All the efforts put into the show by the Global Sources team were worth it, as the show was able to generate 2,003,617 page views with 33,602,774 impressions.

140,126 users from 160 countries and territories were online to join the event, 30% of which were newly-registered buyers. This resulted in an impressive 62,039 inquiries and request for quotations. Another impressive statistic to consider is nearly 70 percent of the company’s total buyers sells globally to developed countries.

The company’s state-of-the-art product matching service, “MATCH”, was able to find 37,146 suitable products for the right buyers. Product categories included healthcare and grooming, study and work electronics, home and hardware products, etc.

A pandemic that restricts social gathering and mass transportation is a limitation that the company has striven to overcome. The numbers speak not only to the success of the show, but also to the company’s capacity to adapt and adjust to the highly dynamic industry of B2B commerce.

Buyers’ behavior may change in the middle of a pandemic, but sourcing is an industry driven by always-changing global consumer needs. As the need to source online increases, buyers can expect Global Sources to deliver new and exciting ways to connect them to the right suppliers.