ASD Market Week is a large general merchandise trade show held in Las Vegas, typically twice a year. It is different from the gift and home markets: the buyer base leans toward value retail, discount and dollar stores, convenience and independent general stores, online resellers, wholesalers and importers, and the conversation is more about price, volume and margin than about story and packaging. For the right brand it can open a lot of doors at once. For the wrong brand it is a week of being asked to cut price. This guide explains who is at ASD Market Week, who should exhibit, and how to work it. Dates, sections and fees change, so confirm current specifics on the organizer's site.
Who buys at ASD Market Week
In broad terms the floor draws:
- Value, discount and dollar-channel buyers, from independents to regional and national chains, looking for products that hit a price point. How to sell to Five Below and Dollar General describes what those buyers expect.
- Convenience store and gas station buyers and their distributors, who want impulse items, small packs and counter displays. See how to sell to convenience stores and gas stations.
- Independent general merchandise, variety, pharmacy and tourist-area retailers across many categories.
- Online resellers and marketplace sellers sourcing inventory to sell on their own storefronts.
- Wholesalers, jobbers and importers buying in volume to resell to smaller retailers.
- Some mass, drug and specialty chain buyers scouting specific categories.
The show is organized into sections by category — general merchandise, gift and novelty, health and beauty, fashion and accessories, and others — and the buyer mix varies by section. Ask the exhibitor team which section fits your product and who walks it.
Who should exhibit
ASD works best for brands whose product:
- Has a clear, competitive price point at wholesale and a cost structure that supports volume pricing.
- Sells in multiples: case packs, counter displays, prepacks. Buyers here think in cases and pallets, not in a dozen units.
- Has broad appeal rather than a narrow, curated niche.
- Is ready for larger orders, with inventory and cash to fulfill them and terms to protect you.
It works less well for a premium, story-led brand whose margin depends on a boutique retail price. Those buyers are at the gift and lifestyle markets, and they are a better use of the same budget.
What ASD buyers ask for
Expect a direct conversation, usually within a minute:
- Price per unit, price per case, and what it does at volume. Have a tiered price list ready and know your floor. Volume pricing: how to reward bigger wholesale orders shows how to build tiers that reward volume without giving away margin.
- Minimum order and case configuration. Units per inner, inners per case, cases per pallet.
- Retail price point and the retailer's margin at that point. Value buyers work backward from a shelf price.
- Lead time, in-stock position and where you ship from. Domestic stock ready to ship is an advantage.
- Packaging and display options. Counter displays, clip strips, floor displays. Convenience and value buyers want the product to merchandise itself.
- Compliance basics. UPC on every unit, case labeling, and any safety or labeling requirements for the category. Have it done before the show.
Booth basics for a value-retail show
- Price on the sign. More than at any other show, buyers here want the number before they stop. Put case price and per-unit price on visible cards.
- Show the case and the display. A buyer wants to see the shipper and how it looks on a counter or shelf, not just a single unit.
- Show the range at a glance. Value buyers scan for a line they can fill a section with. Group by price point.
- Keep the pitch short. Product, price, margin, minimum, lead time. Then ask who they buy for.
- Staff for volume. The aisles can be busy. Two people minimum, one talking and one writing.
A compact, clearly priced booth beats an elaborate one here.
Protecting your margin and your brand
Two cautions specific to this show:
- Know your walk-away price before the show. You will be asked for a lower price repeatedly. Decide in advance the minimum you can accept at each volume tier, and stick to it. Run the tiers through the wholesale margin calculator so the floor is a number, not a feeling. A show order that loses money is not a win.
- Think about channel conflict. If you also sell on Amazon or through boutiques, a value retailer or online reseller selling your product far below your usual retail price can undercut those channels. A minimum advertised price policy and clear terms help; MAP pricing: how a minimum advertised price policy protects your retailers explains how.
What it costs, in broad terms
The structure is standard: booth space by footprint, show services (electricity, furniture, drayage), display, product and samples, travel and lodging in Las Vegas, shipping, and your prep and follow-up time. Set a target before booking: what volume of new accounts, at what average order, makes this worthwhile? Trade show ROI shows the math.
Before and after
Before: identify the sections and the buyers you want, invite target buyers with your booth number, and prepare a tiered price list, order form, terms sheet and display samples. The trade show checklist has the full prep list.
After: follow up within a week with every real lead, with the price list and any display or compliance information they asked for. Write and ship the orders promptly. For larger buyers, expect vendor setup paperwork and a slower timeline; the show is the introduction.
A worked example
A small brand making phone accessories at an accessible price point exhibits in a compact booth. Fully loaded, the show costs them around 7,500 dollars. They post case pricing and show a counter display. Over the show and the following six weeks they open 35 new accounts — mostly independent convenience and variety stores and a few online resellers — averaging about 350 dollars per opening order, plus one regional convenience distributor that places a larger opening order. First orders roughly match the show cost; a year later, reorders and the distributor volume have made it clearly worthwhile, and the brand exhibits at both annual editions.
At a value-retail show, the price is the pitch. Decide your floor before you arrive, and the show works for you instead of on you.
Buyers between shows
ASD Market Week happens twice a year. Convenience, value, variety and general merchandise retailers, and the distributors that serve them, are reachable year-round, and reaching them is research and outreach. WholesalePilot does that from a product link: it finds the distributors, wholesalers and retail buyers that fit your product, verifies their emails, sends outreach in your name and books the calls.
Paste your product link and see which buyers are out there before you book a booth — the preview is free.