Attendance for this year's International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) turned out to be a fraction lower than last year-not higher, as previously announced by CBA.

Occupying the smallest floor space in recent years, the resized four-day event last month at the America's Center in St. Louis, saw total attendance of 4,647, according to CBA's new audited show figures-2% lower than 2009's 4,744 turnout in Denver.

Professional attendance was 1,593 compared to last year's 1,605, while international visitors numbered 371, a rise of 4.5% on Denver's 354.

CBA released its revised show attendance figures last Friday, after routine analysis by the association's staff discovered a reporting error in the 2009 attendance numbers. The 2009 ICRS attendance report of a 20% turnout drop from 2008 should have been reported as a 36% decline, more in line with overall trade show performance at that time, CBA said.

CBA Executive Director Curtis Riskey said the year-to-year discrepancy discovered has been corrected, and that the association is implementing a new policy of not reporting attendance numbers until after a complete audit--which typically takes a few days after the show closes and all registrations are accounted for.

Riskey apologized for the error. "CBA seeks accuracy and transparency in ICRS performance statistics to help exhibitors assess show performance and value," he said. "Going forward, only audited numbers will be reported in detail."

Riskey added that overall total attendance for ICRS was still ahead of the curve in light of a recent report by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, which showed that the consumer goods and retail trade sector had an average overall decrease in total show performance of 16%.

"Even though total numbers are down compared to a few years ago, it is apparent that the people attending are serious about their show investment and work hard to create a return," Riskey said. "ICRS continues to be a very valuable show for our industry."

The first ICRS under new leadership since last fall's departure of longtime President and CEO Bill Anderson, the June 27-30 event had a significant focus on digital publishing, social media and visual entertainment.

• Prev
• Next