Built to attract: Evaluating trade show booth designs using attention analysis in a live communication context

Abstract Trade show booths are focal points in exhibitors’ trade show marketing, as well as platforms for meeting different target groups, most important new and existing customers. Booth designs thus need to attract trade show attendees’ attention; this study explores which design elements are most effective for doing so. Using eye-tracking technology, it reveals which design elements attract visitors’ visual gaze, using both and comparing a two-dimensional photographic artwork based laboratory study to an actual three-dimensional visual live experience context. The results indicate comparable gaze patterns and relative importance of design elements in both research settings, such that the same design elements attract the most attention in lab and live communication environments. Distraction and sensory overload result in considerably fewer absolute gaze contacts on trade show floors though. Furthermore, the results show that visually outstanding components such as towers, canopies, furniture, or interaction elements compel more attention than wallpaper or screens. This study validates the use of eye-tracking tools in three-dimensional contexts. It also offers managerial recommendations to exhibitors to include visually remarkable elements in their booths and to rely on eye-tracking techniques to evaluate available design options.