The International Consumer Electronics Show is the world's largest annual tradeshow for consumer technology, and America's largest annual tradeshow of any kind. The latest edition ran from Jan 8-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, showcasing an estimated 20,000 new technology products from more than 2,700 companies around the world. New trends unveiled at the 2009 CES will shape the future of consumer electronics, including 3D HDTV, advances in OLED, green technologies, Internet TV and digital entertainment.

Even though attendance dropped some 30 percent compared with previous years, the traffic at Alibaba.com's booth remained high. "You could see a long line of visitors at our booth at any given time" commented Mr. Cliff Hsia, Marketing Manager for Alibaba.com. "Our game, Aim for a World of Suppliers attracted thousands of attendees, many of which were curious about online sourcing." While waiting for their chance at gifts and prizes, attendees learned how the online B2B marketplace and sourcing directly from manufacturers on Alibaba.com could help them to achieve higher profit margins.

Attendees were also entertained by a magician, who performed numerous card tricks at the Alibaba.com booth. His skillful card technique also helped to attract big crowds, while he subversively snuck in information about Alibaba.com. "It was the perfect blend of entertainment and education," said Mr. Hsia. Delighted by the light-hearted atmosphere that Alibaba.com portrayed, many attendees signed on to give the free service a try.

Buyer Testimonials

 
Mr. Darrell Schoenig, President of High Road Enterprises, Inc., and a member of Alibaba.com for 7 years. Over the course of his membership, he has made deals worth more than US Dollar 250,000.

 
Cody is the Chairman of Global Technology in Florida, US, and uses Alibaba.com as a buyer. He has been a member of Alibaba.com for about three years, where he has successfully concluded deals with suppliers worth some US Dollar 32,000 without ever having to travel and meet the suppliers in person.

 
"I've only been with Alibaba.com for about 2 years," said Mr. Dain Hodson, Vice President of NLU Products. "But within that short time, I've already placed 10 orders worth a total of US Dollar 30,000 with four suppliers."