SPASA Expo Roundup

Daisy's Strategic Accounts Manager, Ben Coyne, provides a round-up of his observations from this year's SPASA Pool & Spa Expos.

At Daisy, we always make it a priority to help our customers sell more by staying connected to our industry and our customers by keeping up with the latest trends and attending industry events. It’s part of the reason why our pool covers and rollers have remained a market leader for so long. 

This year, we again attended SPASA’s full calendar of Pool & Spa Expos, thanks to a much more consolidated timeline compared to 2022. These Expos give us a terrific opportunity to speak to consumers about the cover and roller solutions available to them while helping drive sales to our industry partners. Here’s a breakdown of Ben’s experience at each event:

VIC Expo (3-5 Feb):

The Victoria Expo, spanning an impressive 2.5 days, half a day longer than usual, indicated the exceptional demand for Daisy's offerings in this state. Remarkably, despite the extended duration, visitor numbers remained consistent with the previous year—a promising sign of continued interest. What truly distinguished this expo was the remarkable volume of people actively seeking conversations with Daisy representatives. The strong attendance engaged our three knowledgeable experts throughout, with below ground rollers emerging as a highly popular topic. In terms of performance, the Victoria Expo ranked as the second-best event for Daisy.

WA Expo (18-19 Feb):

WA’s show had slightly lower visitor numbers, which could be attributed to the fact that the break between the WA shows was only 5 months. While this show felt quieter compared to others, the conversations we had were fruitful as they were strongly geared towards new pool owners rather than existing pool owners looking for replacements. People seemed to be signing up more on the day and showing interest in accessories. While still successful, the WA expo ranked as the least busy for Daisy this year.

NSW Expo (25-26 Feb):

The expo in New South Wales felt like it had more foot traffic than in previous years, but the space was also more consolidated. In 2022, the expo was spread across two separate pavilions due to Covid restrictions, but this year it was confined to one pavilion. We experienced consistent foot traffic and valuable conversations, mainly centred around new pool builds. It performed solidly, ranking as the third-best expo for Daisy this year.

SA Expo (25-26 March):

The numbers at South Australia’s expo were considerably stronger compared to last year, making it the busiest in terms of consistent high-quality foot traffic. Typically, there is a rush period between 10 am to 2 pm, but at this show, the consistency of visitors lasted until around 3:30 pm. It turned out to be a surprise standout expo for Daisy this year, ranking as the busiest and best show overall, coming in at number one.

QLD Expo (20-21 May):

The quantity of customers at Queensland’s expo was good and many of them came with existing and new plans. With a few other events taking place in the state that weekend, we saw less casual browsers and more customers who were looking to talk specifics. The visitor numbers seemed lower compared to other expos, but the quality conversations were solid. This expo ranked as the fourth-best show for Daisy this year.

In summary, Despite slightly lower overall foot traffic, the expos yielded some incredibly valuable insights and exceptional results this year. 

For our trade partners looking to increase sales, it’s worth noting that customers appear to be savvier and more well informed this year. While many attendees last year seemed genuinely surprised by the innovation of pool rollers - with many still picturing a pool cover with an old-style white 5-star roller at the end of the pool - this year we witnessed a growing demand and appreciation for our BGB (Below Ground Box) rollers. 

With these conversations gaining momentum throughout the expos and many visitors showing less interest in browsing and more intent on doing business, there appears to be a strong appetite for this range. For our trade partners, this represents an excellent opportunity to sell more. Already one of the most popular products in our range, our below ground boxes offer great margins and will improve the value of your customers’ homes - a win, win!

In many states, we also noticed that more consumers were at the bottom of the sales funnel, actively gathering information and making decisions, providing ample opportunity for our partners to provide value by offering their expertise and advice. Many attendees that we saw came prepared with house and pool plans in their hands, making for a smooth sales experience. 

If you’re looking for more insights, or tips and advice to help you sell more, don’t hesitate to reach out. Our team has a great deal of knowledge and experience to share, plus you’ll find plenty of helpful resources available to you inside our Dealer’s Portal. If you haven't already registered for a login, reach out to your Daisy representative or contact Daisy HQ at [email protected] to get set up today.