We’re going to sneak this one in here because technically, retailers attend tradeshows for free. They are meant for independent and family-owned businesses to build connections, find new products, get free samples, learn, and build those small, local pet stores that we all love. We’ll go over a few of the major ones that Jet really love and why!

In our experience at trade shows, we’ve found that the small business owners are among the most loved by manufacturers and vendors, as opposed to big-box giants like PetCo, PetSmart, etc. Obviously the manufacturers are there to sell their products, so tradeshows are a great way to get ahead of local competition.

Although retailers attend for free, travel and room costs generally add up to several hundred in expenses for a 2-3 day trip. Nonetheless, the return on investment for your pet store down the line can be really impressive. We’ll go into detail next week on how you can make the most of your tradeshow visit when it comes to the pet industry.

Tradeshows

If we’re going to talk about tradeshows, there are at minimum three that we have to cover. Those are Global Pet Expo, SuperZoo, and Pet Connections Expo.

Global Pet Expo

Aptly titled “the one show to attend,” Global Pet Expo is a massive tradeshow in beautiful Orlando, Florida. Booths have hardly been taken down by the time the next year’s dates are released, and you can already start making your reservations for February 26-28, 2020 at the Orange County Convention Center.

Boasting more than 1,000 exhibitors and over 3,600 booths as well as the largest exhibit for new products on the market, Global is a one-stop shop for all things pet related. Not attending can see your local competitors get their paws on newer products faster, for cheaper, and then get better results and increase market share.

On top of the products on store, Global boasts a talented range of educational speakers and seminars, a retailer awards ceremony, and a vast audience of pet industry experts on a wide range of topics.

Keep an eye out for the Pet Engine Marketing team as a speaker in the 2020 event! Fingers crossed.

SuperZoo

SuperZoo is another massive expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. Held this year on August 20-22nd at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, all the dogs come out to play for this event. Generally considered as big and as tempting as Global, SuperZoo gathers a whole host of speakers, retailers, manufacturers, influences, educators, groomers, and more under one (large) roof for a spectacular tradeshow event.

In addition to the standard offerings, SuperZoo provides a grooming competition and REO Speedwagon concert for only $25.

With several thousand national and international exhibitors, booths, and this year boasting over 850 new products, SuperZoo is an attractive destination for pet retailers that are looking for business opportunities as well as a chance to enjoy the Las Vegas life for a few days. We know how tough it can be to leave your pet store for a few days, so mixing the tradeshow with a bit of vacation isn’t a bad idea!

Pet Connections Expo

Pet Connections Expo is a fantastic newer expo held in the northeast and is the only fall event for the pet retailers. A great opportunity to strengthen your business, meet with partners, and discover what’s new as well as perfectly timed for retailers to get ahead of their competition with new products for the busy holiday season and beyond.

Where Global and SuperZoo excel with size, strength, and financial power, Pet Connections succeeds with the opposite merits. Pet Connections is a smaller, more intimate tradeshow where retailers can make deeper connections with speakers, educators, manufacturers, and in general feel less rushed and pressured to see everything and be everywhere.

The 2019 expo will be held on October 15th and 16th in the New Jersey Convention & Expo Center and offers a whole host of exciting, innovative ideas, including but not limited to:

The 2½ hour pet retailer Boot Camp before the show opens on Wednesday with Lynn Switanowski
Campfire Sessions for short, intimate, classroom-style sessions with industry experts sponsored by Pet Boss Nation and Pets Plus Magazine
- We’ll be speaking twice!
The Pet Tech Challenge for manufacturers to gain credibility, publicity, and win prize money for innovative new products
A free 30-minute marketing audit with our own team of experts from Pet Engine Marketing

These additions are hard to find at other tradeshows around the country and are absolutely worth taking advantage of! The team here at Pet Engine Marketing are really excited to be a part of the tradeshow and we can’t encourage you enough to make a fall trip out to Jersey this year!

Conclusion

Tradeshows are a great opportunity to better your business. We’ll let them slide into the freesources category because as a retailer your attendance is totally free! You can pinch a penny here and there and get the most out of these tradeshows, or not and use it as a vacation in these beautiful destinations. Hope to run into some of our clients and potential clients there!