Change is all around us...

A friend wrote this and I had to share it. I am not sure exactly what to take from it, but I think that we all are seeing changes around us and this really called them out.

So I went to the Home and Garden Show, something that I have done every year except for last when COVID had everything disrupted. I admit, I was not sure what to expect as COVID is still here and businesses have been struggling... but I did not expect what I saw.

First, let me say I usually enjoy the show greatly. I love meeting people, adding contractors to my list that I refer to clients and seeing the gardens and displays. I always find someone for the next home project and usually come away with lots of new contacts and business cards. New products are on display, lots of home improvement ideas and vendors to perform them.

Well this year was different.

First the gardens were nice, but scaled back dramatically from years past. I understand cutting budgets and keeping things simpler, but I bet a lot of people were disappointed by what they saw. Not that they were not lovely, just that they were far less impressive than in the past.

Second... I can't say I counted but it seemed at least 30% of booths were selling jams, salsas, jewelry and other products that really have nothing to do with home and garden. The person I went with said it felt more like a flea market at times than a professional show and I have to agree.

Third, the number of booths was way down from years past with a large section of the buildings closed off with curtains to hide the fact that there was an obvious lack of vendors participating. It felt as if a third of the space was empty, and vendors seemed spread out more to make it seem fuller than it was.

Attendance seemed way down as well. When I was there aisles were empty, in fact I parked in the front row. Now I went in the afternoon during the week but zero lines to get in, only a handful of people and a lot of booths with only 1 person manning them.

The biggest shocker was how many booths were unmanned and how many sales people just sat in their booth on the phone or not engaging people walking by. An expensive show to be in would make you think they would be more engaged. On top of this, we asked at least 10-12 vendors to call us to get bids on several projects... as of now only 1 has called.

I want to blame COVID. I want to blame the economy. But the reality is I wonder if this is the "new normal" as online sales and zoom meetings have taken over the world. Are these shows a dying event?

Whatever the reason was, the show was very different and I would not rush back. We will see if this is a change or just a one off difference, but it does seem like the world is changing.

Well I found what he said interesting. What do you think?