Returning once again is the Guangzhou Trade Fair or Canton Fair 2024, the largest trade fair in Asia, held in Guangzhou, China.

At the end of April, Smile Exhibit took its team to visit the Canton Fair exhibition in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. The purpose was to gather creative ideas for booth design and decoration to apply to our own booth designs.

Canton Fair 2024, Phase 2.

The Canton Fair, a trade fair, first began in 1956 and has been held twice a year since then, in the spring and autumn seasons. Each session is divided into three phases, typically held in April and October, at the Canton Fair Complex. Here's the breakdown of each phase for the April 2567 session:

Phase 1: April 15th - 19th, 2567 Exhibits: Kitchen appliances, building materials, vehicle parts, and machinery.

Phase 2: April 23rd - 27th, 2567 Exhibits: Consumer goods including kitchenware, health products, pet supplies, and jewelry.

Phase 3: May 1st - 5th, 2567 Exhibits: Apparel, accessories, food, medical equipment, and general health products. This phase caters to businesses dealing in clothing, footwear, bags, medical equipment, and pharmaceuticals.

In this visit, we explored Phase 2 to observe booth decorations. The 135th Canton Fair remains a crucial platform showcasing global trade diversity and innovation. The event includes the "Trade Bridge," facilitating business matchmaking and trade promotion activities. This fair goes beyond product exhibitions, fostering opportunities for buyers and sellers worldwide to connect and build business relationships. It's no surprise that China's trade continues to grow significantly, supported earnestly by the government.

This time, the theme revolves around "Quality Living at Home and Beauty." There's a blend of online commerce to adapt to the changing lifestyles of people today, making it more convenient for attendees to access the event. Having visited numerous exhibitions before, this one stands out as the largest. The booths showcase modernity, with LED screen advertisements, 4K-resolution product displays, and interactive touch screens for customer selection. Digital touchscreens enhance the digital shopping experience, engaging customers and providing interactive responses. Additionally, features allow seamless integration with online media platforms of the stores.

In addition, something noteworthy at the event that I'd like to share with everyone is the use of materials inside the booths that are currently trending, such as 'Membrane' or 'Acrylic Lightbox.' These materials enhance wall decorations as they function as lightboxes, ranging from small booth signs to large booth walls. The seamless design of these panels makes the walls look exceptionally striking.

While this material may still be relatively expensive in Thailand, its cost here might be more affordable, leading to its widespread use. Going forward, it seems likely that this material will be increasingly utilized in booth decorations.

While conducting business online is predominantly favored in today's business landscape, attending trade fairs remains a crucial and ever-effective channel. Regardless of the era, the opportunity to meet and converse face-to-face between buyers and sellers, negotiate deals, test products, experience new innovations, and encounter fresh ideas is invaluable. These interactions may lead to expanding one's network, adapting to evolving marketing strategies, and ultimately benefiting one's business. 

Next time, we'll take our team to visit another trade fair. Stay tuned!