Trade Show
Buyer Day is Back for #ATA2021
Members look forward to seeing Buyer Day return for the 2021 ATA Trade Show.
Photo Credit: ATA
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Author: Cassie Gasaway
Over 80% of retailers surveyed after the 2020 ATA Trade Show said Buyer Day was a positive addition to the Show, and 90% of retailers surveyed said they wanted Buyer Day to return in 2021. Wish granted! Buyer Day is back for #ATA2021.
Buyer Day is reserved for exhibitors, retailers, and other buyers to conduct business before the rest of the Show opens. Photo Credit: ATA
About Buyer Day
Buyer Day restricts the Show floor to verified buyers and exhibitors Jan. 7, Day 1 of the 2021 Show. Buyer Day ensures buyers and manufacturers can focus on order writing, business planning, and new-product evaluations the first 9½ hours of the three-day Show. All verified Show attendees will have access Jan. 8-9.
Maria Lewis, ATA’s senior director of Trade Show and membership, said writing orders and accomplishing business tasks again ranked as the top reasons retailers and exhibitors attend the Show.
“Buyer Day was introduced at ATA 2020 to facilitate this objective, and was extremely successful,” Lewis said. “Retailers greatly appreciated the time they received to focus on their business needs. Buyer Day made their 2020 Trade Show efficient and productive. Our goal is to always facilitate business interactions between our members at the Show.”
Exhibitors and buyers know that anybody on the Show floor on the first day is there to conduct business and ready to buy. Photo Credit: ATA
Buyer Day Benefits and Support
ATA members said they like Buyer Day because it helped them connect and talk business. It also decreased crowd size, which made navigating the Show floor easier.
Therefore, they look forward to Buyer Day at the upcoming Show. Jill Hejza, owner of Hideaway Archery, said she loved Buyer Day because she completed most of her orders that day. That gave her time to meet new manufacturers and explore the Show the next two days.
“It was so nice not to have to fight to get into a booth because they were doing an interview or filming an ad,” Hejza said. “It was the first time I really enjoyed the Show because I wasn’t running around trying to get to all the things I wanted to get to. I finally saw things I hadn’t been to before. I’m very excited (about the 2021 Buyer Day.)”
Nicole Tindale, owner of Flaming Arrow Archery, agreed. “Buyer Day was amazing,” she said. “I could talk to my vendors and really learn about the products. It’s super exciting (to have it back for the 2021 Show) because we’ll get a lot more work done and accomplish our orders.”
Many exhibitors also liked Buyer Day, and are grateful it’s back.
“[Buyer Day] was an excellent addition to the 2020 Show,” said Jacob Hacker, senior key accountant for Spypoint. “I’m glad to hear it’s back. We wrote more orders on Buyer Day than the other two days combined (at last year’s Show.)”
Garrett Wood, a sales representative for Everything But Stromboli LLC, said Buyer Day made it easy to approach people, knowing they were interested in their products. He looks forward to “knowing when I talk to people (Jan. 7) that they’re there looking to buy, are ready to buy, and have the potential to buy,” he said. “Buyer Day takes the mystery out of it.”
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The ATA will allow verified nonretail buyers access to the Show floor on Buyer Day 2021. Photo Credit: ATA
Buyer Day Changes
The COVID-19 pandemic has stressed many industries, including our own. Still, the ATA is confident the 2021 ATA Trade Show will take place as scheduled Jan. 7-9, 2021, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
After reviewing feedback on Buyer Day from the 2020 Show, ATA staff decided to make a few adjustments for 2021. Lewis said the most notable change is allowing verified buyers in nonretail organizations to participate in Buyer Day. The ATA will detail those changes to the applicable groups before registration opens Aug. 11.
Lewis is excited about the 2021 Show’s timing in January. She said Buyer Day – and the entire Trade Show – helps ATA members reset and start 2021 with optimistic excitement.
ATA staff will continue working closely with the Indiana Convention Center team throughout the event-planning process to ensure everyone follows all social-distancing protocols.
For more information about the 2021 ATA Trade Show, visit archerytradest.wpengine.com/trade-show. Click here to be redirected. Or contact Becky Lux, ATA’s senior Trade Show manager, at beckylux@archerytrade.org or (507) 233-8132.
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