The world's largest technology trade show -- The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) - held in Las Vegas in January spanned over 1.8 million square feet of space or the equal of 35 football fields. There were over 2,700 trade show exhibitors and more than 140,000 trade show visitors from 130 countries. In fact, the CES is America's largest annual trade show of any kind.

"The 2007 International CES succeeded beyond our expectations," said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the trade group behind the CES. "It had buzz and optimism and attracted the world leaders of the content, technology and services, communications and automobile industries," Shapiro continues.

The technology trade show showcased the convergence of broadband, content and consumer electronics. The trade show exhibitors took advantage of custom and custom modular tradeshow exhibits-- some using sophisticated rental trade show displays-- to springboard more than 20,000 dramatic product launches and major partnership announcements, spanning across industries and linking up consumers with more features, services and control of the content incorporated into electronic devices.

Crowds came to see the latest trends in hi tech gear. Gadgets ruled the day. It all comes down to this--what tech gadgets are hot and what do stores need to stock in order to catch the latest hi- tech wave. American businesses want to know how people will spend their time and money in the 21st century. The Consumer Electronics Association, offers the following facts:

The average U.S. household is projected to spend nearly $2,000 on consumer electronic devices in 2007. Compare this to $1,251 per household in 2005 vs. $84 per household in 1975. The industry is expected to ship a record $155 billion in products in 2007.

The average U.S. household has 26 consumer electronic products: TVs, video games, digital cameras, cell phones, iPods, etc. This compares to 17.4 such products per household in 2000. In 1975, the average was 1.3 products, most likely a TV and a radio.

Today every household has almost three TVs. Flat TV monitors and LCD TV sales are expected to reach $26 billion this year. There is a shift away from radio and audio system sales due to spending on other gadgets such as TV displays and MP3 players.

At the CES trade show, the trade show exhibitors boasted tech gadgets that were fast, small, and mobile. The trade show exhibits on the show floor showcased the latest in gadgetry. Trade show visitors were mesmerized when they saw the latest widgets at the trade show booths.

A good rule of thumb is that a successful trade show is one that offers trade show booths that give visitors what they come for-no matter whether the trade show is at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, the Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland, the Moscone Center in San Francisco, the Hannover Exhibition Center in Germany or the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

So, remember, the next time you exhibit at a trade show-whether you are in the hi-tech industry or another field; if you are able to showcase new gadgets, products or services that answer the needs of your visitors, you will win the day.