B2B Events 2026 Statistics (Updated September)

In-person vs virtual events

1. 1

   Moving a conference from in person to fully virtual cuts its carbon footprint by 94% and its energy use by 90%, according to a 2021 Nature Communications study.

   Source: Nature Communications, 2021 ^[1]

2. 2

   A hybrid conference that keeps more than half of participants in person can cut its carbon footprint and energy use by two-thirds if the in-person hubs are chosen well, according to a 2021 Nature Communications study.

   Source: Nature Communications, 2021 ^[1]

3. 3

   At in-person conferences, 40% of pairs of participants who had not met before became connected, against 22% at virtual conferences, in a 2025 PNAS Nexus study.

   Source: PNAS Nexus, 2025 ^[2]

4. 4

   Attending the same small session raised the chance that two conference participants would collaborate from about 1.7% to about 11%, in a 2025 PNAS Nexus study.

   Source: PNAS Nexus, 2025 ^[2]

5. 5

   58.9% of medical congress attendees want future meetings to be hybrid; 22.9% want in-person only and 16.3% virtual only.

   Source: International Journal of Medical Education, 2025 ^[3]

6. 6

   80.6% of in-person congress attendees came to meet experts, against 51.0% of virtual attendees, in a 2025 International Journal of Medical Education survey of 1,229 congress attendees.

   Source: International Journal of Medical Education, 2025 ^[3]

7. 7

   69.3% of in-person attendees came to make or deepen professional connections, against 30.8% of virtual attendees, in a 2025 International Journal of Medical Education survey of 1,229 congress attendees.

   Source: International Journal of Medical Education, 2025 ^[3]

8. 8

   Scientific updates motivated 81.3% of in-person attendees and 85.4% of virtual attendees, in a 2025 International Journal of Medical Education survey of 1,229 congress attendees.

   Source: International Journal of Medical Education, 2025 ^[3]

9. 9

   Among events run by mature, multi-event organisations on Bizzabo in 2025, 63% were in person, 33% virtual and 4% hybrid.

   Source: Bizzabo, 2026 ^[4]

10. 10

    71% of event attendees say in-person B2B conferences are the most effective way to learn about new products or services, in Bizzabo's 2026 survey.

    Source: Bizzabo, 2026 ^[5]

What in-person events do for brands

1. 11

   In a 2025 Freeman and Harris Poll survey, 95% of attendees trusted brands more after an in-person event, in a year when 71% of brands saw their corporate reputation decline.

   Source: Freeman and The Harris Poll, reported by Trade Show Executive, 2025 ^[6]

2. 12

   93% of event decision makers say live events have a positive effect on brand trust, and 92% on the number of new clients, in a 2025 Freeman and Harris Poll survey.

   Source: Freeman and The Harris Poll, reported by Trade Show Executive, 2025 ^[6]

3. 13

   85% of attendees are more likely to buy after an event, in a 2025 Freeman and Harris Poll survey.

   Source: Freeman and The Harris Poll, reported by Trade Show Executive, 2025 ^[6]

4. 14

   89% of working professionals say they feel closer to a brand or company through live events, in a 2025 Freeman and Harris Poll survey.

   Source: Freeman and The Harris Poll, reported by Trade Show Executive, 2025 ^[6]

5. 15

   Respondents to the Events Industry Council and Oxford Economics 2026 survey of more than 1,600 event organisers, venues and suppliers said taking part in in-person events raised awareness of their organisation by 37% on average.

   Source: Events Industry Council and Oxford Economics, 2026 ^[7]

B2B event budgets and plans

1. 16

   Nearly 70% of B2B organisations are cutting the number of events they run, according to Forrester's 2026 research.

   Source: Forrester, 2026 ^[8]

2. 17

   In Forrester's 2026 research, only 18% of B2B organisations plan more large hosted events; most plan smaller networking events with fewer than 200 attendees.

   Source: Forrester, 2026 ^[8]

3. 18

   In Forrester's 2026 research, two-thirds of B2B organisations still face flat or declining event budgets, although the share with budget increases above 10% doubled year on year.

   Source: Forrester, 2026 ^[8]

4. 19

   40% of event organizers plan to run more events in 2026, down from 66% who planned more in 2025, in Bizzabo's 2026 survey.

   Source: Bizzabo, 2026 ^[4]

5. 20

   69% of U.S. event marketers say their company plans to increase its total marketing budget in the next 12 months, in Splash's 2025 survey of 1,058 U.S. marketers.

   Source: Splash (Cvent), 2025 ^[9]

6. 21

   57% of U.S. event marketers expected to run more partner events in 2025, 51% more sponsored events and 44% more owned events, in Splash's 2025 survey of 1,058 U.S. marketers.

   Source: Splash (Cvent), 2025 ^[9]

7. 22

   77% of U.S. event marketers would host more events if technology made them easier to run and repeat, in Splash's 2025 survey of 1,058 U.S. marketers.

   Source: Splash (Cvent), 2025 ^[9]

8. 23

   78% of B2B marketers allocate budget to experiential marketing.

   Source: Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 2025 ^[10]

9. 24

   56% of meeting professionals expect favourable budgets, a share that has held for four quarters.

   Source: Meeting Professionals International, 2026 ^[11]

10. 25

    61% of meeting professionals expect live attendance to rise, the highest share in a year.

    Source: Meeting Professionals International, 2026 ^[11]

11. 26

    60% of meeting professionals gave favourable business projections in Q3 2026, the highest since Q1 2025.

    Source: Meeting Professionals International, 2026 ^[11]

Event ROI, attendance and pipeline

1. 27

   About half of organisations say their events perform well, but only 38% of CMOs agree, according to Forrester's 2026 research.

   Source: Forrester, 2026 ^[8]

2. 28

   Two-thirds of organisations have connected their main event platform to their sales and marketing systems, a 44% increase on the year before, according to Forrester's 2026 research.

   Source: Forrester, 2026 ^[8]

3. 29

   62% of organisations with a deep event platform integration are satisfied with event performance, against 37% of those without one, according to Forrester's 2026 research.

   Source: Forrester, 2026 ^[8]

4. 30

   51% of B2B marketers who measure it say experiential touchpoints shorten the sales process, in a 2025 Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs survey of 1,015 B2B marketers.

   Source: Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 2025 ^[10]

5. 31

   52% of B2B marketers name speaking events and webinars among their most effective thought leadership channels, behind LinkedIn (76%) and email newsletters (54%), in a 2025 Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs survey of 1,015 B2B marketers.

   Source: Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, 2025 ^[10]

6. 32

   Organisations running mature, multi-event programs on Bizzabo averaged 25 events a year, with 412 registrations and 269 attendees per event.

   Source: Bizzabo, 2026 ^[4]

7. 33

   Only 15% of event organizers rate their networking as very effective in 2026, against 46% in 2025, in Bizzabo's 2026 survey.

   Source: Bizzabo, 2026 ^[4]

8. 34

   73% of meeting professionals say intentional event design will be very important or essential for business outcomes over the next two years.

   Source: Meeting Professionals International, 2026 ^[11]

Event technology and AI

1. 35

   95% of event organizers expect their organisation's use of AI in events to increase, in Bizzabo's 2026 survey.

   Source: Bizzabo, 2026 ^[5]

2. 36

   63% of organisations say data quality and access hold back AI personalisation of attendee experiences; fewer than a quarter use AI for it, according to Forrester's 2026 research.

   Source: Forrester, 2026 ^[8]

3. 37

   64% of event organizers plan to change their event management software vendor within a year, in Bizzabo's 2026 survey.

   Source: Bizzabo, 2026 ^[5]

4. 38

   88% of U.S. event marketers planned to invest in event technology in 2025, in Splash's 2025 survey of 1,058 U.S. marketers.

   Source: Splash (Cvent), 2025 ^[9]

5. 39

   28% of meeting professionals say their company has added AI guidelines to its meetings policy, in American Express Global Business Travel's 2025 survey of meeting and event professionals.

   Source: American Express Global Business Travel, 2025 ^[12]

6. 40

   Only 25% of meeting professionals track the CO2e emissions of their events, in American Express Global Business Travel's 2025 survey of meeting and event professionals.

   Source: American Express Global Business Travel, 2025 ^[12]

7. 41

   34% of meeting professionals put safety first when choosing an event city; 25% look for economic and political stability, in American Express Global Business Travel's 2025 survey of meeting and event professionals.

   Source: American Express Global Business Travel, 2025 ^[12]

When and where trade shows run: ExhibitorLens data

1. 42

   March is the busiest month for trade shows in the ExhibitorLens dataset, with 15.0% of dated shows, ahead of May at 14.1%; July and August together hold 5.3% and December 0.4%.

   Source: ExhibitorLens · shows listed August to September 2026 · 454 trade shows with a known month · method

2. 43

   66.1% of trade shows in the ExhibitorLens dataset run between January and June.

   Source: ExhibitorLens · shows listed August to September 2026 · 454 trade shows with a known month · method

3. 44

   The United States hosts 41.6% of the 587 trade shows in the ExhibitorLens dataset, the United Kingdom 19.9% and Germany 6.6%.

   Source: ExhibitorLens · shows listed August to September 2026 · 587 trade shows in 39 countries · method

4. 45

   In the ExhibitorLens dataset, the 11 computer industry shows list a median of 300 exhibitors, against 56.5 for the 12 healthcare and medicine shows.

   Source: ExhibitorLens · shows listed August to September 2026 · 11 computer shows, 12 healthcare shows · method

Frequently asked questions

Are in-person events better than virtual events for networking?

In a PNAS Nexus study of nine research conferences, 40% of pairs who had not met before became connected at in-person conferences, against 22% at virtual ones. At a large medical congress, 80.6% of in-person attendees came to meet experts, against 51.0% of virtual attendees.

How much do virtual events cut emissions?

A Nature Communications study found that moving a conference fully online cuts its carbon footprint by 94% and its energy use by 90%. A hybrid event that keeps more than half of participants in person can cut both by about two-thirds.

Are B2B companies running more or fewer events?

Fewer. Forrester reports that nearly 70% of B2B organisations are cutting the number of events they run, and only 18% plan more large hosted events. In Bizzabo's survey, 40% of organizers plan more events in 2026, down from 66% a year earlier.

What share of events are in person?

Among events run by mature, multi-event organisations on Bizzabo in 2025, 63% were in person, 33% virtual and 4% hybrid. That figure covers established event programs, not every organisation.

Do events build trust in brands?

In the 2025 Freeman Trust Report, 95% of attendees said they trusted brands more after an in-person event, and 85% said they were more likely to buy afterwards.

When do most trade shows take place?

In the first half of the year: 66.1% of dated shows in the ExhibitorLens dataset run between January and June. March is the busiest month with 15.0%, and July and August together hold 5.3%.

Sources

1. [1]Nature Communications. “Trend towards virtual and hybrid conferences may be an effective climate change mitigation strategy”. 2021.↑1 ↑2
2. [2]PNAS Nexus. “Face-to-face or face-to-screen: a quantitative comparison of conferences modalities”. 2025.↑3 ↑4
3. [3]International Journal of Medical Education. “Changing landscape of medical conferences: identifying the goals motivating virtual vs in-person participation”. 2025.↑5 ↑6 ↑7 ↑8
4. [4]Bizzabo. “2026 State of Events Benchmark Report”. 2026.↑9 ↑19 ↑32 ↑33
5. [5]Bizzabo. “2026 Event Marketing Statistics, Trends, and Benchmarks”. 2026.↑10 ↑35 ↑37
6. [6]Freeman and The Harris Poll, reported by Trade Show Executive. “2025 Freeman Trust Report”. 2025.↑11 ↑12 ↑13 ↑14
7. [7]Events Industry Council and Oxford Economics. “2026 Global Economic Significance of Business Events”. 2026.↑15
8. [8]Forrester. “The Next Era Of B2B Events: Eight Data-Backed Shifts Defining 2026”. 2026.↑16 ↑17 ↑18 ↑27 ↑28 ↑29 ↑36
9. [9]Splash (Cvent). “2025 Outlook on Events”. 2025.↑20 ↑21 ↑22 ↑38
10. [10]Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs. “B2B Content and Marketing Trends: Insights for 2026”. 2025.↑23 ↑30 ↑31
11. [11]Meeting Professionals International. “Meetings Outlook, Q3 2026”. 2026.↑24 ↑25 ↑26 ↑34
12. [12]American Express Global Business Travel. “2026 Global Meetings and Events Forecast”. 2025.↑39 ↑40 ↑41

Method

We searched Google and Google Scholar for B2B events statistics, B2B event marketing statistics, in-person events statistics and event marketing statistics, and read the 10 statistics pages that ranked and the research papers with open full text. Each number was traced to the organisation or paper that produced it and checked against it on September 24, 2026. The Freeman numbers come from trade press coverage of the report because the report itself is published as an image-heavy PDF. Several sources survey event organisers or meeting planners rather than B2B marketers, and each sentence names the group. ExhibitorLens numbers come from our own database of exhibitor lists. They cover 587 trade shows and exhibitions and leave out craft fairs, community markets and conference sponsor lists.

ExhibitorLens numbers new on this page:

• March is the busiest month for trade shows in the ExhibitorLens dataset, with 15.0% of dated shows, ahead of May at 14.1%; July and August together hold 5.3% and December 0.4%. Month taken from each show's published dates. 133 of the 587 shows have no month in their listing and are left out.
• 66.1% of trade shows in the ExhibitorLens dataset run between January and June. Share of dated shows in the first two quarters (32.6% in January to March, 33.5% in April to June).
• The United States hosts 41.6% of the 587 trade shows in the ExhibitorLens dataset, the United Kingdom 19.9% and Germany 6.6%. Host country of each show. The split describes the shows ExhibitorLens covers, not every trade show in the world; 9.0% have no country listed.
• In the ExhibitorLens dataset, the 11 computer industry shows list a median of 300 exhibitors, against 56.5 for the 12 healthcare and medicine shows. Median exhibitor count per show for each industry label with at least 10 shows.

All 45 statistics as a CSV: b2b-events-statistics.csv.

Cite this page

ExhibitorLens, “B2B Events 2026 Statistics (Updated September)”, updated September 2026, https://exhibitorlens.com/research/b2b-events-statistics

To cite one number, link its anchor: each statistic has one, for example https://exhibitorlens.com/research/b2b-events-statistics#stat-1.