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CABDA Expo organisers will unveil their newest event next week – CABDA Online.
Taking the place of the usual, in-person Q1 events, the virtual B2B event hopes to offer ‘some degree of normalcy’ for attendees.
“It’s a whole new world for us really,” said show director Jim Kersten. “We had to pivot from freight handling and floorplans to coding, social media and video production. But if we cannot bring everyone together in person, this is the next best thing.”
Registration for CABDA Online opened in December, and the event boasts more than 2,000 registered attendees from 920 shops across the United States and Canada. Although Kersten expects attendance numbers to climb as the event approaches.
“We located our in-person shows in regions with a high concentration of bike shops to make it easier for folks to attend, but with this event being virtual we’re seeing a ton of registrations from areas where we usually don’t see a ton of turn out,” Kersten said.
The virtual event features over 40 breakout sessions including sales and tech training, an industry panel discussion led by NBDA president Heather Mason and a keynote presentation from sales trainer Joe Marcoux titled ‘Prepare Now for a Post-Covid Winter’. All sessions will be available to attendees on-demand after they air live.
Attendees can also visit 50 virtual exhibit booths and schedule meetings with sales reps, as well as attend industry Q&As, live tech clinics from SRAM and a virtual job fair.
“The platform is as interactive as you want it to be,” Kersten added. “Some people are super comfortable turning on their webcam and chatting with everyone they can. Other people want to keep the camera off and just look around and check out the exhibitors and seminars. We have options for both groups.”
CABDA Online will be live from 10th-11th February, however, attendees will have access to all sessions and exhibitor booths for 30 days after the event. An interactive schedule of breakout sessions is posted online. Free registration for retailers runs through Thursday.
Read the February issue of BikeBiz below:
