Core conclusions:The 140th Canton Fair will be held in three phases from October 15 to November 4, 2026. The exhibition area is about 1.55 million square meters and more than 30,000 exhibitors, including about 2800 brand companies, high-tech and specialized and innovative high-quality enterprises accounted for about one-third; in the previous session, there were 314,000 overseas buyers from 220 countries and regions. There are only three steps to judge whether to set up a stall: which issue the product belongs to, whether there is a pre-registered buyer list in hand, and whether the samples and certification are in place. One of the three steps is impossible. It is more cost-effective to send people to view the exhibition first than to book a booth first.
What are the first and third phases, and which issue does your product fall into?
| period | time | Main theme and corresponding factory |
|---|---|---|
| the first phase | October 15 - 19 | Advanced manufacturing: home appliances, consumer electronics and information products, industrial automation and intelligent manufacturing, processing machinery, general machinery and mechanical basic parts, engineering machinery, agricultural machinery, new energy vehicles and smart travel, new energy, lighting, hardware tools |
| the second phase | October 23 - 27 | Quality home: daily ceramics, kitchen utensils, household items, glass crafts, home decorations, garden supplies, holiday supplies, gifts and giveaways, watch glasses, building and decoration materials, bathroom equipment, furniture |
| the third phase | October 31 to November 4 | Better life: toys, maternity and baby products, clothing, shoes, luggage, home textiles, carpets and tapestries, office stationery, medical and health products and medical equipment, food, sports and travel leisure products, personal care products, pet products |
The two exchange periods are from October 20 to 22 and October 28 to 30. The exhibition hall will not negotiate with the outside world during these two periods. Many factories step in this trap when participating in the exhibition for the first time: they invite customers to the exchange period, but when they arrive in Guangzhou, they find that the exhibition hall cannot be entered. After the appointment is settled, the first thing you do is to cross the renewal period out of the appointment calendar.
2. Step 1: Which issue does the product fall into
We only look at one criterion-which period of exhibition area corresponds to the main products. Inter-period products (such as mechanical equipment with hardware accessories, home textiles with home decoration) are mainly the line with the largest turnover, and another person is sent to the museum to see accessories and substitutes during the corresponding period. The cost of misplacing is not the booth fee, but the three days of empty space and missed buyers.
We must also accept one reality: the themes in the same issue are also hot and cold. The buyer structure of advanced manufacturing and quality home furnishing is very different. The former is mainly engineering procurement and distribution agents, with a long decision-making chain and a large single amount; the latter is mainly retail chains and brand owners, with the weight of styles and packaging. Higher. Determine the customer portrait first, then determine the selection period, and the order should not be reversed.
3. Step 2: Do you have a pre-registered buyer list in hand
Pre-registration for overseas buyers on Canton Fair is open all year round, and buyers can apply for free at airports, stations, ports, designated hotels and Hong Kong offices; online exhibitions and offline exhibitions have the same themes and operate normally throughout the year. In other words, the list can be obtained before the opening ceremony without waiting for buyers to walk into the booth themselves.
The criterion is straightforward: two weeks before the opening, can we gather 20 target buyers who have clearly stated that they will come to the museum? Only when you can get it together will it make sense to set up a stall, because these 20 lists determine the reception rhythm for the two days before the exhibition; if you can't get it together, it means that customer development is still at the stage of spreading business cards. At this time, it is more suitable to send people to the museum first. Use two days to figure out the list of target buyers and existing suppliers, and set up a stall next time.
4. Step 3: Whether the sample and certification are consistent
Pre-certification is the watershed between setting up stalls and viewing exhibitions. Buyers in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia usually ask for three types of documents during their first contact: product safety and chemical limit reports, origin and ingredient labeling, and target market language versions of packaging and instructions. These documents usually take 4 to 8 weeks to get them. With the opening ceremony on October 15, what can be done is to bring the styles that have already received the report to the main promotion, and only display the products whose reports are still being processed without quoting.
Bringing a "to-be-tested list" to the scene is more useful than bringing a new sample without reporting. The list clearly states the target market for each model, what kind of report you need, and how many weeks you expect to receive it. What buyers see is your compliance ability, which determines whether to enter the inquiry list later than the color and price of the sample.
5. Is it worth it not to set up a stall and just shop?
There are three situations where it is recommended to only visit the exhibition: the budget is tight, and the goal of the year is to gauge the market and see the direction of new products; the main focus is to maintain old customers, who have already arranged to meet around the exhibition hall; product certification and labeling are not ready yet, and the price cannot be quoted on site. In these three cases, if you buy tickets to enter the exhibition hall, you can also get quotations and new product directions for about three to five key customers, and the cost is less than one-tenth of the cost of setting up a stall.
Conversely, if the goal is to sign new customers, require on-site quotations and factory inspection commitments, and need to receive an booked buyer group, the transformation of just viewing the exhibition will be significantly lower than that of setting up a stall. The difference is not in the exhibition hall, but whether the booth can provide space to "sit down and negotiate the contract terms."
6. Write the production ratio into a formula and substitute it yourself
The order amount required to recover the cost = total investment ÷ comprehensive gross profit margin. The total investment should include all labor for booths, construction, samples, travel, reception, and post-meeting follow-up, not just booth fees; the comprehensive gross profit margin should use the actual gross profit margin of foreign trade orders in the past 12 months, not the best one. The calculated figure is the order amount that must be signed for this exhibition.
Compare this number that must be signed with the actual order amount received from similar exhibitions in the past 12 months. If the gap is less than double, it means that the input and output match; if the gap exceeds double, we should consider reducing the area, sending only one or two people to the exhibition, or moving the budget to online channels. If you can't settle this account, you will leave the judgment to luck.
7. Common questions
1. This is the first time to participate in Canton Fair. Do you choose the first issue or the third issue?
Select only based on product theme. If the product can fall into two themes at the same time (such as lighting and home decoration), give priority to the one with a higher buyer density and overlaps with your existing customer base, and send one person to the museum in the other to see trends. Don't quote the wrong date just because "the first issue is famous." The buyer arranges the itinerary according to the theme, not according to your booth.
2. Should the booth area be 9 square meters or larger?
9 square meters is suitable for standard products that only provide product display and quotation; if on-site demonstrations, reception areas, and full-cabinet plans or customized plans are needed, more than 18 square meters is meaningful. For categories with low product unit prices and short decision-making chains, 9 square meters and a clear quotation may not be less efficient than large booths; however, if equipment operation or prototype dismantling needs to be displayed, insufficient area will make the entire display invalid.
3. How to follow up after the exhibition?
There are only three things to do on site: confirm the identity of the buyer and the purchase category, get the business card and meet with the follow-up person, and arrange a specific time for the next communication on the spot. The first email with quotations and specifications will be sent within 48 hours after the meeting, and will be followed up once on the 7th and 21st days. The pace of follow-up determines the final transaction more than the number of business cards. Collecting 500 business cards in three days and not sending an email in a month means not participating in the exhibition.
For factories exporting electromechanical, household, and consumer goods, the value of Canton Fair lies not in the booth itself, but in whether the buyer list, samples and compliance information can be placed on the table at the same time before the opening; first calculate how much the order you need to sign for the cost, and then decide whether to book a booth.
Qihang Zhilian Foreign Trade Research Institute·Let China's intelligent manufacturing industry set sail to sea·Tel: 180-0327-6609
