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As the 2026 autumn sourcing season gets underway, the second phase of the Global Sources Hong Kong Shows is set to take place from October 18 to 21 at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. They focus on four core tracks—mobile electronics, smart home security and appliances, lifestyle electronics, and sports and outdoor—bringing together more than 2,100 Asian suppliers, over 4,000 booths, and more than 160,000 new products. According to the organizer's latest figures, as of early September, pre-registered professional buyers worldwide had grown significantly year over year, with particularly strong purchasing demand from Europe and North America.
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The Essence of Trade: Not Showing Off Technology, but Solving Problems
John Kao, Vice President of Global Sources Hong Kong Shows and Overseas Shows, said that after speaking with a number of buyers, he found that today's buyers have little interest in flashy concept technologies. Instead, they place greater value on products' cost-effectiveness, whether new products are compliant, whether their innovations can solve real local problems, whether there is reasonable profit margin, and manufacturers' mass-production capability and cooperativeness—all of which have become important considerations in deciding whether to enter into long-term cooperation.
"As an international trade platform connecting Asian manufacturing with global professional buyers, we aim to help buyers reduce the decision-making risks of cross-border sourcing. Here, they can browse a rich supply of Asian-made products in one place without traveling to multiple locations; the trust established between buyers and sellers on site is often difficult to achieve through months of email exchanges; and the show also ensures that genuinely capable suppliers are not drowned out by merchants that only hype concepts," John Kao said.
Second-Hand Phone Trade Goes Legit
Buyers' demand for compliance capabilities has given rise to an entirely new trading scenario. Hong Kong has long been an important transit hub for the global second-hand phone trade. However, for a long time, the cross-border trade in second-hand electronic products has been mired in a compliance gray area involving data security, environmental certification, and unclear sourcing, leaving legitimate businesses and buyers alike under pressure from insufficient trust.
For the first time, the Global Sources Hong Kong Shows have partnered with the Hong Kong International Communications Electronic Chamber (HKICEC) to launch a new "HKICEC Global Mobile Exchange Pavilion," bringing the circular economy onto the stage of a Hong Kong B2B exhibition in a tradable, compliant form. More than 60 leading second-hand industry service providers from around the world—including Zhuanzhuan, ATRenew (Aihuishou), US Mobile Phones Inc., Belong Inc., and ecoATM LLC—will all be on hand, showcasing second-hand phones that have undergone professional testing and certification and that meet the EU's WEEE Directive, along with related supporting services.
At the show, buyers can complete compliance reviews and source screening on site, turning what was previously a difficult cross-border second-hand trade into orders that can be implemented and are compliant. IDC data shows that global second-hand smartphone shipments reached 225.7 million units in 2024 and are expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate of about 5% over the next five years.
Buyers to AI Vendors: Ship It, Don't Show It
Along with buyers' increasingly pragmatic sourcing logic, the criteria for selecting AI products have also shifted markedly. Earlier in the year, the industry was still abuzz over what new AI products were available; by the second half, the focus had shifted entirely to deployment capability and delivery efficiency. No longer chasing feature gimmicks alone, buyers place greater emphasis on whether products can effectively address real needs and ship reliably on schedule. Suppliers' overall fulfillment capability has surpassed mere product highlights to become the primary assessment criterion in sourcing decisions.
This shift in demand is also set to be directly reflected in the "AI+ Products Hall." The Hall covers not only AI glasses, AI-integrated products and AI terminal devices, but also extends to lifestyle electronics such as wearable electronics, toys, smart pet products, personal care and beauty tech, sports, outdoor and fitness tech, gifts, and smart living, spanning a wide range of real-world applications.
Tencent is making its debut at the show with its ecosystem partners under the theme "AI Solutions for Business," showcasing a range of AI solutions designed to drive business growth. These include WorkBuddy, an AI office assistant, and Buda.im, an AI business growth tool, as well as a number of smart hardware products. Held concurrently with the shows, the "AI Agent Summit" will bring together Tencent's Chief Scientist and the Chairman of the Tencent Open Source Alliance, together with AI experts from international open-source organizations such as the Linux Foundation and the OpenClaw Foundation, to discuss technology deployment pathways and the industry standardization process.
In addition, the shows will partner with the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA) to launch a Taiwan AI Supply Chain Theme Pavilion, showcasing Taiwan-based industrial cluster advantages in AI modules, components, and contract manufacturing.
Vietnamese Suppliers Turn Out in Force
Buyers’ demand for supply chain resilience has evolved from a strategic contingency into a key sourcing consideration. Phase 2 of the shows features a dedicated "Vietnam Sourcing Fair (VSF)" zone, bringing together approximately 50 Vietnamese manufacturers with mature export capabilities, covering three product categories: fashion products and apparel, home and kitchenware, and gifts and packaging.
For buyers seeking to diversify sourcing risks, the value of this zone lies in reducing the time cost of dispersed sourcing. In Hong Kong, they can simultaneously compare and assess China's main supply chain and Vietnam's emerging production capacity, and negotiate directly face-to-face with Vietnamese factories.
New Mobile Accessory Launches & Parallel Security Tech Show
With new generation iPhones and other flagship smartphones hitting the market, demand for compatible mobile accessories is ramping up. Over 2,000 mobile accessory booths at the show will showcase new offerings including phone cases, charging gear, stands and data cables. The event will also host the “Global Buyers' Top Picks” creative phone case contest to identify case designs with strong market potential.
Phase 2 of the Global Sources Hong Kong Shows will concurrently host the Hong Kong Security Tech Show. Supported by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), the show will showcase products and solutions spanning security surveillance, smart access control, and cybersecurity.
Global Sources Hong Kong Shows Visitor Registration https://hkgse.info/4xkiAGs
