In 2020, as a result of the pandemic, we saw a dramatic shift in automotive repair trade shows. With safety concerns about in-person events, the industry transitioned to online forums, creating opportunities whereby automotive service professionals could still have access to speakers, interactive training, content, networking, exhibitors – and deals.

While there’s no doubt that these virtual events lack the “fun” factor of engaging directly with company representatives and industry peers, they offered a great alternative for shops to see what vendors had to offer on their individual pages within the virtual event. And without the expense of traveling to a location and taking valuable time away from their shop.

In fact, SEMA management surveyed shops who participated in the virtual SEMA360 virtual event last November and received positive feedback. Not only did shop owners appreciate being able to web-surf vendor pages to learn about new product offerings and get the best show deals – they were able to do it all from the comfort of their office, with no shop downtime to attend the event.

Shop owners and technicians who attended SEMA360 say they got as much value out of the virtual event vs. going in person. And while the virtual event did lack the opportunity to get up close and personal with the tricked-out vehicles SEMA is known for, that will hopefully happen this year when the SEMA Show resumes in Las Vegas.

For 2021, the earliest events are still virtual, but in anticipation that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines will get the virus under control, some in-person events are tentatively scheduled starting as early as April, like the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) in Minneapolis.

We anticipate that the success of last year’s virtual events will strengthen industry events in the future with hybrid offerings that include both face-to-face and virtual venues.

Here are some of the 2021 automotive repair events that ALLDATA will be participating in, and we’ll update the list as more are confirmed. We hope to see you at one of these, virtually or in person. And you can always check out what’s new at ALLDATA.com.

Events in 2021