DSE Says Total Attendance Up 6% From Year Earlier, And Record End-User Tally

April 11, 2019 by Dave Haynes

Digital Signage Expo says its verified total attendance at its 2019 event was 4,260 people, up six percent from 2018 and the second largest total in its 15 or so years.

The show’s organizers also say DSE delivered the highest number of qualified end users in its history – 1,848. That number is the one exhibitors tend to care about the most.

The show, which wrapped up about two weeks ago in Las Vegas, had people in from 63 countries, accounting for 17.6 percent of the overall attendance.

I definitely sensed the show was busier than a year earlier, particularly on day 2. In 2018, it was really, really slow on the Thursday – probably owing to the show butting up against Easter weekend.

The biggest DSE show was a couple of years ago, when attendance spiked to 4,900 people, owing somewhat to three other events – GlobalShop, Cinemacon and Pizza Marketplace – being on in Vegas at the same time, with GlobalShop attendees in particular having free access, as well, to DSE.

The show has otherwise bobbed along for several years now with a headcount of 4,000 to 4,100. So while the 2019 increase is not overly big, the count is at least up.

Interestingly, the show did not push out stats on exhibitor numbers or overall floor space used in 2019 – something Exponation  used to do, but didn’t last year either or with the 2019 press release. The show was suggesting it was 250+ in its PR just ahead of the event. I was paying attention to the total on the exhibitor list in the days prior to the show, and it was at 190 the last time I checked, about a week out.

I don’t know how 2019 finished, but previous years it was 200 or so exhibitors. In 2017, it was 255.

The 2020 edition of the trade show is scheduled for March 31-April 3, with the exhibit hall open April 1-2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The 16:9 Mixer is already booked for back at the Hard Rock Cafe on March 31st.