Event Industry Trends & Developments

It was inevitable that the event industry would undergo a digital transformation. The Coronavirus outbreak sped up the process. 

The thought of virtual events wasn't even on the radar until the beginning of 2020. Now, 93% of event planners plan to invest in virtual events (Source: Post Covid-19 Event Outlook Report).

As a family of problem solvers, many event organizations were able to transform their businesses to digital/virtual overnight, helping the industry throughout the pandemic. While virtual conferences and events have shown to be beneficial, we anticipate that hybrid events will soon become more common. 

Further information can be found in the following statistics: 

• More than three-quarters of event professionals (93%) plan to invest in virtual events moving forward. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• Almost eighty percent of event organizers found virtual events to be effective at reaching a wider audience. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• About 96% of event professionals say virtual events are unlikely to replace physical events. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• Incredibly, 80% of respondents claimed attendee engagement and satisfaction were key performance indicators for virtual events. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• A little more than three-quarters (39.5%) of event organizers said finding great speakers for virtual events was easier. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• Almost half (55%) of respondents said their virtual events aimed at improving customer relations, education, and retention. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• More than three-quarters of organizations (63%) are switching to virtual conferences or events. (TOPO, 2020)
• According to 68% of event marketers, hybrid solutions that can manage both virtual and in-person events will be crucial to their event strategies in 2020 and 2021. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• The number of webinars produced by organizations has increased by more than half (54%). (TOPO, 2020)
• During COVID-19, more than half of event professionals pivoted to virtual events (Bizzabo, 2020).
• In-person and virtual event technologies are preferred by 68% of event professionals. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• Just over half of event marketers feel that virtual events pose a different set of challenges than traditional ones, and that virtual events require different skills and resources. (Bizzabo, 2020) 
• Most event marketers (68.8%) agree that hosting virtual events makes networking more difficult. (Bizzabo, 2020) 
• COVID-19 prompted 87% of event marketers to cancel events and 66% to postpone them. (Event Marketer, 2020)
• About 80% of registrations for virtual events are free of charge. (Bizzabo, 2020)
• Virtual events are more difficult than in-person ones to create unique and memorable experiences for attendees, according to half (52.9%) of event marketers. (Bizzabo, 2020)

Sources: https://www.bizzabo.com/ 

Book a free consultation with us today to learn more about how we can assist you with your next event.