ISPO Textrends Marketplace: How ISPO Extends the Trade Fair Experience All Year Round

For decades, ISPO has been the international meeting point for innovations, materials, and partnerships in the sports and outdoor industry. Yet, often, direct exchange ends when the trade fair does.

That is now changing: With the ISPO Textrends Marketplace, ISPO extends the trade fair experience into the digital space, creating a platform that makes textile innovations visible and accessible all year round.

“Our goal is for every valuable contact made at the trade fair to continue after the event,” says Saskia Retterbacher, Head of Event Management at ISPO.
 “The Textrends Marketplace is the link between physical presence and digital visibility, making it a true game-changer for both exhibitors and visitors.”

The ISPO Textrends Marketplace is the official online platform where visitors, brands, and designers can search year-round for materials and textile innovations from ISPO networks.

For exhibitors, the platform becomes a central hub for product communication, offering features that go far beyond a classic online product presentation:

• A globally visible company profile, linked to all ISPO events in Munich, Beijing, and Shanghai
• A personalized analytics dashboard showing interactions, product views, and orders transparently
• Automated sample shipments handled by ISPO’s logistics partner
• Digital customer collections that exhibitors can send directly from the booth or afterward
• Year-round performance analyses to track leads and optimize the product portfolio

This turns every trade fair encounter into a measurable step toward a successful business relationship.

Together with technology partner Tengiva, ISPO brings digital efficiency to the textile trade.

“Our platform combines the speed of digital commerce with the trust built through personal encounters,” explains Mia van der Heyden, Account Manager at Tengiva.

On the Marketplace, buyers can perform three key actions on each product profile:

1. Order swatch samples – small fabric samples automatically shipped.
2. Place in-stock or prototyping orders to test new materials in small quantities.
3. Submit production inquiries based on pre-defined supplier conditions.

Requests can thus be generated directly from the booth or continued at a later time.

During ISPO trade fairs, physical and digital experiences merge:

• Each product at the booth can be equipped with a QR code that visitors scan with their smartphones. They instantly access product details, order samples, or save favorites.
• At the same time, the sales team can create personalized product collections (e.g., “Client ABC – Munich 2025”) and send them digitally during the conversation.

After the fair, every product remains active online and provides valuable analytics on scans, views, and orders.

“No lead gets lost anymore. Every interaction becomes measurable with minimal effort for the sales team,” emphasizes Retterbacher.

To fully leverage the Interactive Year-Round Stand, ISPO offers two packages for exhibitors:

Standard Package:

• Complete product profile on the interactive platform
• Four professional photos per product
• Unique QR codes for each product
• RFQ module to receive and manage inquiries
• Analytics dashboard to track orders, scans, and interactions
• Free, automated international sample and swatch shipping

Premium Package:

• All features of the Standard Package
• High-resolution 3D product scans with downloadable files (Clo 3D, Browzwear, Style3D compatible)
• Real-time engagement tracking: views, scans, clicks, and inquiries
• Global sample and swatch shipping directly to customers
• Products remain visible after the fair for continuous buyer access

Both packages allow exhibitors to digitize their entire product collection, capture leads directly at the booth, and track them comprehensively after the fair—maximizing trade fair ROI.

Getting started is simple: Exhibitors can activate the “Interactive Year-Round Stand” add-on via the ISPO Exhibitor Shop and upload their product SKUs.

For the launch, ISPO offers a free trial that allows exhibitors to digitize a limited number of products at no extra cost – an ideal way to explore the marketplace’s full potential.

To ensure full tracking during the trade fair, products should be digitized at least one month before the event

With the ISPO Textrends Marketplace, a multi-day trade fair presence becomes a 365-day business platform. The combination of personal encounters, digital reach, and measurable success sets a new standard for efficient networking and sustainable business development for textile experts, brands, and suppliers.