Daily News
From Home Furnishing Business
Dallas Market Center Announces Record Number of New Buyer Applications
May 5,
2021 by Laurie Northington in Business Strategy, Designer Weekly, Industry 
Dallas Market Center has announced that the number of new buyer applications for the first four months of 2021 is up 50% versus 2019. Retail buyers and interior designers from all 50 states and numerous countries have recently applied to become buyers at Dallas Market Center, the first step toward visiting the marketplace.
This news precedes a full schedule of June trade events including shows that are the first summer opportunity for buyers to order new products. Summer shows in Dallas follow more than ten months of successful markets and open-daily business welcoming a record number of new buyers.
The most recent trade events hosted inside the Dallas marketplace were the best-attended in more than a decade, and the strongest attendance gains were outside of its immediate region: traffic in March 2021 from the Midwest was up 70%, the Southeast was up 97%, and buyer traffic from the West was up 126%.
“We think the next six months will be strongest retail market in decades, and our marketplace is serving as a dominant center of commerce as well as a supportive community for buyers and sellers,” said Cindy Morris, president and CEO of Dallas Market Center. “We are onboarding thousands of designers and retailers from across the country who are beginning a business or making a shift to Dallas. We have also expanded temporary exhibit space and opened more than 120 permanent showrooms in the last year. This is historic momentum as we serve as the most active marketplace in North America and as buyers order deeply from our exhibitors. Buyers are choosing a single marketplace with a lifestyle assortment of products, and we are anticipating this trend to drive big business in Dallas this summer.”
To support new buyers arriving for the summer shows, the market center is enhancing its pre-market communication and education for new buyers via digital tools and a dedicated team of retail ambassadors. During the show, new buyers will be welcomed to market with special tours, a welcome desk, and a buyers’ lounge. New buyers are encouraged to review market announcements, the website and to download the app for pre-market planning.