By SEMA News Editors
The New Product Showcase is one of the most important destinations at the SEMA Show. It's where innovation is celebrated, discovery is constant and attendees instinctively slow down to explore what's new. It's also where SEMA makes a clear promise to exhibitors: your product will be seen.
Exhibiting at the 2026 SEMA Show? Entries for the New Products Showcase will be open soon. Stay updated on all of the latest SEMA Show information with SEMA News and semashow.com.
What's been historically difficult to prove is how often those products were actually seen and if that visibility translated to meaningful engagement.
That challenge led SEMA to partner with FastSensor to measure the New Product Showcase at the most recent SEMA Show, pairing the energy of the floor with behavioral data to understand how attendees truly experienced the space and how that value could be communicated back to exhibitors.
FastSensor's data validated the Showcase's role as a discovery engine. Over the course of the show, the Showcase generated more than 620,000 brand impressions and nearly 614,000 exhibit hall attendees walked just outside the Showcase footprint. Positioned near a major hall entrance, the space delivered sustained, high-density visibility repeatedly throughout the show. Visibility was only the starting point.
FastSensor also revealed that thousands of people entered the Showcase. Inside the space, engaged visitors spent meaningful time exploring products and sections. On average, these visitors spent 21 minutes in the New Products Showcase, far beyond a quick pass-through. Nearly 45% of the qualified visitors engaged even more deeply, exploring specific product sections or multiple sections with sustained dwell.
Reviewing the data, SEMA Trade Show Director Andy Tompkins captured the opportunity clearly.
"It's really interesting to see where the audience eyeballs are actually gathering. And as attendees engage with products in the Showcase, it became an invitation to visit the Exhibitor's booth to learn more," Tompkins said.
When FastSensor layered engagement data onto the floor plan using heatmaps and journey analysis, the story became even clearer. Central, hands-on product areas consistently drove higher engagement and longer dwell.
The data also challenged exhibitor assumptions about their product placement within the Showcase.
As SEMA Trade Show Operations Manager Justine Hubbard noted, "Though the SEMA Show is bustling in all areas and sections, we did have exhibitors who didn't think they were in a good spot. Seeing the heatmap––where their area was a bright red engagement hotspot––completely changed that conversation."
For the first time, SEMA could separate product performance from perception and validate placement decisions with objective proof. The impact went beyond a single report.
"SEMA had been looking for a solution to track attendee data in this marquee area to help promote the value of the Showcase in new ways. We found that with FastSensor," said Hubbard.
The New Products Showcase has always delivered buzz and discovery. What FastSensor added was clarity––giving SEMA a new way to explain, defend and elevate the value of the Showcase with evidence to match the experience.
Want to take advantage of this powerful lead generator at the 2026 SEMA Show? New Products Showcase entry forms will open soon. Keep an eye on SEMA News and semashow.com for the latest updates.
FastSensor is the official data and measurement partner of the SEMA Show and offers a variety of solutions to track engagement for exhibitors. Visit hs.fastsensor.com/sema-2026 to learn more.
