After a successful launch trade event, Harrogate International Nursery Fair (HINF) has teamed with Nursery Online to bring Harrogate Digital Show part 2 to the market.

With so much turbulence brought about by coronavirus, the nursery industry has encountered so many unforeseen changes, including the further cancellation of autumn trade shows including Kind + Jugend, Autumn Fair and the rescheduled October HINF.  However, this has made way for the rise of the ‘digital shows’, which have been well attended by brands across the industry.

With no further physical trade shows planned until March 2021, both HINF and Nursery Online feel there is a need to continue to champion brands and support retailers during the autumn and winter months.  The aim of running a second Harrogate Digital Preview Show is to bring the latest autumn/winter launches and industry updates together in one easy to access place.

Nursery Online and Harrogate International Nursery Fair will work with brands, industry experts and retailers to bring the second Harrogate Digital Trade Show to the market on 16th and 17th November.  The live elements of the show will run from 10am – 7pm on the Monday and from 10am – 4pm on the Tuesday, and will include brand demos, retailer interviews and expert workshops.

‘The Digital Preview Show aims to help retailers get all the information they need from the comfort of their home or store.’

Over 400 visitors from across the globe, and more than 25 exhibitors signed up for the first show in June.  Feedback from retailers and brands was positive, with many brands on-boarding a number of stores as a result.  From a retailer perspective, it was useful to have a wealth of information in one place, which has remained on the Nursery Online website since the summer.  The aim was to provide content on demand for retailers to fit in with their busy schedules, which was achieved by the presence of pre-recorded demos from the brands and useful talks for retailers to watch at their leisure.

All content from the show in November will remain on the Nursery Online website for retailers to view for 3 months.

The aim of the November digital show is to give retailers the opportunity to learn about product launches that have taken place over the last year during the pandemic; and to introduce the actual Harrogate event in March 2021 to an international audience where new product launches for 2021 will be the highlight of the show.

With over 6,500 subscribers to Nursery Online, and Harrogate’s show database of visitors standing at around 2,000, this is the perfect opportunity for brands to come together in one easy-to-access place for retailers.

What is at the Digital Show?

The Nursery Fair Digital Showroom will run on Nursery Online in its own revised dedicated section.  The show will be broken down into five areas:

1. Demo zone – live and pre-recorded demos of new products from exhibitors.
2. Showroom – each virtual exhibitor will get their own “stand” page for images, video, product and company information.  This will be categorized into sections.
3. News/trending – contains press releases, brand interviews and news features around the show.
4. Talks and workshops – we will offer show visitors the opportunity to attend webinars and live interactive and pre-recorded online workshops to learn more about how they can help their business.
5. The Digital Doctor – a new digital service for retailers and brands including Google my Business workshops, SEO, social media help and website design is being launched by Nursery Online.  The Digital Doctor will be on hand to answer your questions

Kerry Haynes, Publishing Director of Nursery Online, explains: “With the continuing effect of coronavirus on the retail sector, we decided it is more important than ever to bring together our industry in one place.  The trade is working hard together and we have seen some fantastic initiatives from brands and also the likes of Progressive Preschool with their upcoming digital awards, and Nursery Today with Product Launcher.  We have taken on board the feedback from the last digital show and aim to do all we can to support brands and retailers during the months ahead until we see the return of the physical show in the spring.“

Adrian Sneyd, Harrogate International Nursery Fair show organiser, comments: “We are delighted to partner with Nursery Online to deliver a second Digital Trade Show in November which will lead into the long-awaited physical Harrogate International Nursery Fair that we aim to deliver at the end of March 2021.  We are thankful to report that the fair is already almost fully booked with many major brands rolling through their 2020 plans to exhibit again, plus a number of new brands all desperate to get back in front of their customers face-to-face once more.  We anticipate that this link with Nursery Online to offer a virtual event again will further strengthen and provide an outlet for exhibitors whilst we continue to plan for the physical event that is still over five months away from now.  With the majority of the stand space in the usual hall layout already confirmed, I would urge anyone still hoping to present at what will be one of the first trade shows to run for a very long time, to get in touch soon.”

 The Harrogate Digital Trade Show is free to attend.

If you have any questions about the virtual event, would like to discuss exhibiting, or would like to suggest talks and workshops, please don’t hesitate to contact: 

Kerry (kerry@nursery-online.com or 07715 329191) or Adrian Sneyd (Adrian@nurseryfair.com).