Digital innovations are restructuring the way people work, live, and communicate. Online platforms are changing nearly every sector today through blurring the physical and digital domains and directly affecting business operations. As more people and firms embrace digital technologies, meetings, conferences, and exhibitions are also shifting to the virtual world. Virtual exhibition and online conferences and meetings act as alternatives to physical events. The global shutdowns that followed the Covid-19 pandemic transformed the virtual events industry by increasing their adoption across the world. Travel restrictions meant that business and people across industries had to adapt to ensure continued operations. While the virtual events sector was still at the beginning phase, it had to adapt fast to meet the new challenges. The sector already had numerous technologies to implement virtual events. The pandemic accelerated these technologies and their adoption.
Estimates show that the global virtual events in 2019 were worth $77.98 billion and $ 94.04 billion in 2020 (GrandView Research, 2020). Organizations across industries are the main drivers of this market in which most consider a unified communication as a service (UCaaS) sector. Major virtual events include summits, meetings, conferences, trade shows, and job fairs. In the United States, virtual events accounted for over $20 billion of the global market size in 2019, which was less compared to nearly $40 billion in 2020 with expectations for further growth in 2021 (GrandView Research, 2020). Demand for these events is experiencing a surge following the adoption of remote working policies within firms owing to movement restrictions due to the pandemic. The restrictions offered numerous opportunities to the virtual industry as companies increasingly focused on virtual conferencing for meetings. Competition among platforms is also increasing as firms rival each other by introducing innovative solutions. The virtual event sector is expected to grow as firms expand their global operations, which increases the demand for communication platforms with global reach.
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Most firms use the platforms for communication in which the segment accounted for nearly 40% of the users in 2019. Users mainly organized meetings and declarations. The segment maintained its lead in 2020 in which over 50% of users engaged in communications. Solution-based platforms account for the largest share of virtual conferencing and meeting platforms due to the increasing demand for collaboration. The segment accounted for 60% of the market in 2019 and maintained its lead in 2020 (Fortune Business Insights, 2020).
Large organizations accounted for 50% of the users in 2019, which increased to over 60% in 2020. Enhanced collaboration over the platforms attracted all types of businesses (GrandView Research, 2020). Users mainly range from businesses and corporates, organizations, and educational organizations to teams, individuals, and students. Corporates and businesses accounted for nearly 57% of users in 2019 compared to 70% in 2020 with expectations of further growth in the coming years (Fortune Business Insights, 2020). Corporates and businesses used the platforms for communications. Medical meetings and conferences also surged during 2020 as professionals met to find solutions to the pandemic. Virtual exhibitions accounted for over 40% of virtual events in 2019, which increased to over 50% in 2020 (Fortune Business Insights, 2020). Demand for virtual exhibitions surged in 2020 as businesses and organizations conducted product launches, tradeshows, and press releases online.
North America accounts for the highest number of users in which nearly 40% of users of virtual events were located in the region 2019. Other regions such as Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and African and Latin America are also expected to observe a surge in virtual events. The virtual event providers are many and diverse and range from software solution providers and event management firms (GrandView Research, 2020).
Industry Growth in Value and Users (for the period 2019, 2020, 2021e)
Globally, research demonstrates that the market value of platforms for virtual events was about $78 billion in 2019, which increased to nearly $94 billion in 2020 with expectations to grow to $118.36 billion in 2021 (Insights, 2021). In 2019, North America accounted for 41.3% of the market growth globally followed by Europe at 23%, and the Asia Pacific at 20% (GrandView Research, 2020). The Middle East and Africa and Latin America accounted for 15.61% of the market. North America was expected to experience a 29% growth in 2020 while the entire world experienced about 40.37% growth rate in 2021 (Insights, 2021). The Asia Pacific accounted for about 25.8% annual growth throughout 2020 and 2021 while European countries experienced sluggish growth of about 10.1% per year throughout 2020 and 2021. Countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin American experienceed significant growth in which they accounted for 35.1% of annual growth in virtual event platforms throughout 2020 and 2021(Insights, 2021).
Individual platforms are experiencing tremendous growth in which companies such as 6Connex observed a 1000% surge in the virtual event from different events ranging from businesses, educational institutions, and sporting franchises in 2020 (Koetsier, 2020). Microsoft Teams had 20 million daily users in 2020, which increased to over 75 million in 2020 while the market capitalization of Zoom increased from $16.1 billion in 2019 to over $66.2 billion in 2020 (Insights, 2021). Additionally, Zoom had 10 million users daily, which increased to over 300 million daily users in 2020 (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020).
Platforms for meetings and conferencing particularly observed substantial growth in 2020 with platforms such as Zoom registering an increase in users by nearly 200 million per day within months (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). The segment also saw a 500% surge in user activity following the emergence of the pandemic in which nearly 70% of companies invested in conferencing and meeting platforms (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). Sharp increases in the number of users and the value of conferencing and meeting platforms were observed between January 2020 and April 2020 (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). A declining trend in the number of users has been observed since May 2020, which continued into 2021 with expectations for further decline. Nearly 49% of users reduced their investment in virtual event platforms while 24% of them did not change their investment in December 2020. Only 27% of users increased their spending (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). However, specific platforms still attracted users globally in mid-2020 even as the downward trend continued. For instance, Zoom attracted 40% of users globally, followed by Cisco Webex at 12% and BlueJeans at 8% (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). Others include GoToMeeting at 7%, Lifesize Video Conference at 5%, Skype at 3%, Adobe Connect at 3%, Whereby at 2%, Blackboard Collaborate at 2%, and Join.me at 2% (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). Some platforms also registered growth in their market value. For example, the stock price of Zoom increased by 80% in 2020 to $143.44 from $79.18 in 2019 (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). At the end of 2020, 56% of users who did not change their investment anticipated that investments in the platforms would either increase or return to past levels in 2021 even though 16% of them expected the investment to decline in 2021. Nevertheless, 64% of users expected to increase their investments in conferencing and meeting platforms in 2021. About 53% of the users also expected to increase their investment in events platforms in 2021 (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). Most users were uncertain at the beginning of 2021 regarding their investment in the platform in which 50% of them expected their investments to return to past levels before the pandemic (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020). The following table demonstrates the global average of the adoption rate of the platforms vs the benchmark country (USA) (table 1).
Table 1: The top platforms or brands in terms of users and value growth for the period 2019-2021e (million users per day).
Figures for 2019
| Global Av. | USA | |
| Cisco WebEx Events | 200 | 82 |
| Microsoft Teams | 20 | 10 |
| Zoom | 10 | 5.13 |
Figures for 2020
|
Global Average |
USA | |
| Zoom | 300 | 50 |
| Cisco Webex | 130 | 95 |
| Microsoft Teams | 95 | 40 |
Figures for 2021
|
Global Average |
USA | |
| Zoom | 300 | 50 |
| Cisco Webex | 130 | 95 |
| Microsoft Teams | 115 | 60 |
Global Trends on Converting rate from Realistic/Live Events to Hybrid/Virtual.
There has been a notable transition from actual or live events to exclusively virtual or hybrid events in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The transition had already started by 2019 as firms strived to reduce carbon emissions through limiting travels. While most firms and people knew about virtual or hybrid events, a majority of them focused on live events. However, the pandemic and its implications changed the events sector by highlighting the importance of virtual/hybrid events. Studies show that the conversion rate from life to virtual/hybrid events increased by nearly 1000% in 2020 (Koetsier, 2020). The top three virtual event platforms observed an increase of 500% in user activity in 2020 (Insights, 2021). While users could largely access virtual events platforms free of charge in 2019, nearly all platforms introduced charges in 2020 (Insights, 2021). Some platforms focused on a subscription-based model in which users registered for different events at a specific cost.
Nearly all live events ranging from shows, tournaments, and concerts to meetings and conferences were suspended in 2020, which forced users to embrace hybrid or virtual experiences. During this period, trade fairs and shows also gained momentum following the cancellation of notable annual trade exhibitions during the pandemic. In turn, this contributed to the emergence of virtual alternatives to ensure business continuity in 2020. For instance, the cancellation of the Expo West trade show in the United States led to the creation of Virtual Expo West that attracted nearly 350 enterprises (Yu, 2020). Alibaba Group also introduced 20 virtual exhibitions for its customers (Digital Commerce, 2020). The demand for virtual exhibition platforms surged, which benefited innovative platforms as shown in table 3. The numerous virtual event platforms that started scaling their abilities to include hybrid/virtual events contributed to the popularity of online events. The platforms offered practical solutions that allowed organizers to recreate events easily in a hybrid or virtual format. While virtual events communication platforms have been in existence, most started converting from live events to virtual events in 2020. Table 2 shows the conversion rate globally vs the benchmark country (U.S.A). Regarding 2021, virtual events continued even though easing of Covid-19 restrictions made them less prominent than they were in 2020. They have not disappeared completely, however, as they are now being used in a hybrid format to complement live events.
Table 2: Global level (conversion rate) vs benchmark countries based on the number of users, number of events (categorized by type actual/realistic-hybrid-virtual)
| Live Event (2019) | Virtual/Hybrid (2019) | live (2020) | Virtual/Hybrid (2020) | Live (2021) | Virtual/Hybrid (2021) | |
| Global Average | 38% | 45% | 45% | 55% | 52% | 58.76% |
| U.S.A | 20% | 22% | 25% | 29% | 29% | 35% |
Source: (GrandView Research, 2020), (Fortune Business Insights, 2020), (Sullivan-Hasson, 2020).
Table 3: Top newest and current innovative platforms in the virtual exhibitions space
| 1.vFairs | 2.Boomset | 3.Bevy | 4.InEvent | 5.GoBrunch | |
| Expert Reviews (average rating out of 10) | 9.53 (339 review) | 9.35 (156 reviews) | 9.61 (67 reviews) | 9.55 (62 reviews) | 9.39 (26 reviews) |
| Chats | Available | Available | Available | Available | Available |
| Avatars | Available | Available | Available | Available | Available |
| Voice | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported | Supported |
| Engagement | Rich | Non intuitive | Highly engaging | Highly engaging | Intuitive |
| 3D product Review (average out of 5) | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Server capacity | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Security Level | high | high | Built-in | high | moderate |
| Limitations | Setup issues | Confusing for new users | Hard to customize | Hard to customize | Limited integration |
| Number of users | 170 organizations | 58 organizations | 10 top organizations | 400 organizations | 53,000 clients |
| Top events examples |
Mitel User Group Virtual Event. Energy Connect Virtual Conference and Expo |
The American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Virtual Symposium 2020 | Webflow World Tour virtual conference |
Digital Trip With The MICE Guru Global Audio Systems Fundraiser |
Creation of Virtual Classrooms |
| Country of Origin | U.S.A | U.S.A | U.S.A | U.S.A | Brazil |
Source: vFair.com, Boomset, InEvent, Bevy, GoBrunch.
References
Digital Commerce. (2020, June 2). Alibaba launches a series of 20 virtual trade shows . Digital Commerce 360. https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2020/06/02/alibaba-launches-a-series-20-virtual-trade-shows/?spm=a272h.14668721.kahtttr8.7.2675253e1IQ59x
Fortune Business Insights. (2020, October). Video Conferencing Market Size, Share, Trends and Growth, 2026 . Www.fortunebusinessinsights.com. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/video-conferencing-market-100293
GrandView Research. (2020, July). Global Virtual Events Market Size | Industry Report, 2020-2027 . Www.grandviewresearch.com. https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/virtual-events-market
Insights, F. B. (2021, February 23). 3D Virtual Event Market to Reach $41.58 Billion by 2027; Increasing Internet Penetration has Created Several Opportunities for Market Growth, says Fortune Business Insights TM . GlobeNewswire News Room. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/02/23/2180126/0/en/3D-Virtual-Event-Market-to-Reach-41-58-Billion-by-2027-Increasing-Internet-Penetration-has-Created-Several-Opportunities-for-Market-Growth-says-Fortune-Business-Insights.html
Koetsier, J. (2020, May 27). Virtual Events Up 1000% Since COVID-19, With 52,000 On Just One Platform . Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/05/27/virtual-events-up-1000-with-52000-on-just-one-platform/?sh=12bd7b637a23
Sullivan-Hasson, E. (2020, May 8). Web Conferencing Buyer Statistics and Trends . TrustRadius Blog. https://www.trustradius.com/vendor-blog/web-conferencing-statistics-trends
Yu, D. (2020, May 5). How Expo West’s Postponement Drives Emergence Of Virtual Showrooms In The CPG World . Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/douglasyu/2020/03/05/how-expo-wests-postponement-drives-emergence-of-virtual-showrooms-in-the-cpg-world/
