The integration of online and offline sourcing will remain the dominant norm for trade sourcing and exhibitions even after the pandemic subsides, the deputy executive director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council predicted on Tuesday.
“The pandemic has changed the shopping pattern, with more and more shoppers purchasing online to avoid physical interactions,” Benjamin Chau Kai-leung said, adding that he expects international trade exhibitions to continue to be held online at least through the first half of 2021.
Even when the pandemic eases, we expect a hybrid model of online and offline sourcing to become a dominant trend.
Benjamin Chau Kai-leung, Deputy executive director, Hong Kong Trade Development Council
“Even when the pandemic eases, we expect a hybrid model of online and offline sourcing to become a dominant trend,” he said, adding that people have gotten into the habit of online shopping, which allows them to shop whenever and wherever they like.
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As for face-to-face purchasing, Chau said he believes it continues to be “irreplaceable” because it offers shoppers the opportunity to touch the products and communicate with the seller in person. “Physical stores will remain popular in the post-pandemic times while online-to-offline will become the new trend,” Chau said.
The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to the global exhibition industry as the result of travel restrictions and shoppers’ aversion to physical purchasing, leading to a nosedive in the industry’s revenues at 68 percent and affecting deals worth around US$370 billion, figures from The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) show.
Chau said the HKTDC is coping with the challenges by taking a flexible approach to help suppliers and buyers by strengthening its online services and moving its physical fairs online. The HKTDC on Wednesday is launching online its annual trade exhibition — the HKTDC International Sourcing Show — by introducing 3D technology and Click2Match, an AI-powered online business matching platform with which businesses and shoppers can hold meetings and chat live online.
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More than 1,400 companies from 20 countries and regions will exhibit at the sourcing show, which will run through July 29. The physical show will be the last four days of the exhibition, July 26-29, at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the HKTDC said.
Chau said he believes the physical shows will be held on time, given the continual improvement in the coronavirus situation. Meanwhile, HKTDC will keep help small and midsize enterprises gear up for the online operation.
xinlanzeng@chinadailyhk.com