The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released an updated version of its popular report, How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent, originally published in 2014.
“CEIR is pleased to update these metrics. Exhibitors, organizers and suppliers alike will benefit from understanding where exhibitors spend their marketing dollars on trade shows,” said CEIR CEO 
Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE. “It is a resource that helps exhibitors benchmark their spending allocations to industry norms and helps organizers and suppliers understand how much of exhibitor spending they are capturing.”
This report estimates that in 2017, exhibitor direct spending rose to $25.3 billion in nominal dollars. 2017 How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent informs readers how these expenditures break down and identifies where spending has remained constant – versus increasing – compared to 2016 levels.
The outlook for 2018 exhibitor property plans are also disclosed, reporting the percentage of exhibitors planning to use their exhibits as is; to invest in refurbishments or new exhibit purchases; or to contract to rent exhibits. Results reveal there is a healthy market for refurbishing services, and a notable percentage of exhibitors are planning to make new exhibit purchases.
The expenditure categories in this report include: exhibit space; exhibit design; show services; shipping; exhibit staff training; travel and entertainment; pre-show promotions; on-site promotional materials; off show floor promotions; on-site sponsorship and advertising; and lead management and measurement.
In addition to total results, differences in spending allocation are provided by annual revenues, annual marketing budgets and by specific CEIR sectors.
Online survey results are based on a study conducted by CEIR this summer, polling a sampling of exhibitors from lists provided by Fern, Freeman, GES, Hargrove and Shepard Exposition Services. A total of 424 exhibitors responded.
The projected exhibitor direct spend for 2017 is an update of CEIR’s exhibitor direct spending estimate for 2014 and uses data from the CEIR Index for the first two quarters of 2017.
Download 2017 How the Exhibit Dollar is Spent here.
