Beyond Electric Vehicles, Ai Bots, and "The Metaverse" - A CES 2022 Attendee's Retrospective

Attending CES 2022 was a little like embracing the unknown as this year looked much different than pre-covid times. The exhibitor and attendee numbers may have been low, but the experience was still a high point when it comes to innovation. We have already covered our top finds from the week here, but what was it really like as an attendee at CES 2022? Keep reading to find out.

 

A practically empty CES conference entrace, around 9am on day 2 of the event. 

 

THE GOOD
Going from an average of 150,000 attendees in 2019 to 40,000 in 2022, the difference was noticeable. For those who were there, lower numbers ended up being beneficial. We had the ability to have real conversations with exhibitors and other attendees without the usual rush that has previously been present. The exhibitors weren’t scrambling to try to pitch to 10+ attendees at a time, which offered a chance for one-on-one discussion not clouded with worry about missing an opportunity to connect. In fact, most booths had more company representatives than attendees visiting.
 
Along with this, attendees were more open to connecting with other attendees. We are all in the tech industry anyways, so surely there is something to talk about! I was sitting next to a few great people during a lunch break on the second day of the conference. We ended up talking for the entire hour, with others around us joining in and by the end of the exchange, I had a handful of notes, business cards, and plans to collaborate with people that I (probably) would not have had the energy to connect with before. Previous CES gatherings zapped the energy out of you and your lunch break, typically 10-15 minutes, was a time to find a dark corner and not look anyone in the eyes so you could “charge your battery” and get back to the showroom floor. There was so much to see, not wanting to miss a thing, that in the process we really missed out on the human connection aspect of CES — something that was refreshing to gain in this year’s show.

 

The view from the Electric Bikes and Scooters Test-drive section, which we found by accident. (A very happy accident)  

 

THE BAD
The only word I can think of to describe the wayfinding of the entire 2022 conference is “chaotic.” There were many volunteers with shirts that said “Ask Me for Help” but even they were not sure which direction to send us. (Day 2 got a little better, I will admit.) There was an app that was hard to use and when you did finally make it to the location of the exhibitor you were looking for, there was a strong chance that you would be greeted with a temporary sign that said, “this booth has been moved to X location” matched with poorly written instructions on how to get there.  
 
 
The way I ended up navigating the conference was to walk around and hope for the best - stumbling upon an exhibition hall and using the signage above the booths that indicated rows to get a feel for what section I was entering (Home Health, Food Tech, etc.) If you had a specific area of focus you were looking for, you could head to one of the large information booths located around the various convention halls and ask for a company you assumed would be displaying and receive directions there but as previously mentioned, many booths were relocated and not all the CES workers had the most up-to-date information. 

 

Eureka Park had the best wayfinding tools once you arrived, this is also where I saw the biggest need for a touch of design for exhibitors.

 

THE UGLY
Even though the number of exhibitors present at CES was much lower than the previous year, as an attendee I still did not have the energy to visit every booth I walked past. This is where the ugly became noticeable. If you are presenting at CES it is crucial to put an effort into your booth design. There were countless exhibits that made it hard to decipher from the main walkway what they were displaying, and some still weren’t clear what you were looking at when inside the booth.
 
I am not saying you need to pay $$$ to have the extravagant booths that these large companies have, but I would recommend putting effort towards design. If you are spending the money and time to present at CES, be sure that you are catching the attention of anyone who walks by your booth, even if you are not able to conversate with them.

 

Overall, I still think CES was worth it this year and am glad I went. I encourage you all to consider attending in 2023 even if the vendor numbers are low again. The genuine connections I was able to make with exhibitors and attendees made the trip unbelievably valuable.