HDW Connect FAQ

Yes. Approved Hosted Buyers receive a complimentary badge, a $995 value, plus up to $500 in travel and hotel reimbursement.

HDW Connect is an exclusive program reserved for retailers, brands, grocers, marketplaces, and direct-to-consumer businesses that sell physical goods to consumers and own the fulfillment, delivery, or customer experience behind getting those products to the door. Vendors, carriers, 3PLs, technology providers, and service providers are not eligible to apply as Hosted Buyers.

You'll share your priorities during onboarding, and our team builds a proposed meeting schedule matched to those priorities ahead of the show.

Hosted Buyer badges are reserved for buyers who intend to complete their confirmed meetings. If you don't complete your schedule, the card on file for your registration will be charged for the full badge value.

Your application and meeting profile information is used only to match you with relevant vendors and build your schedule. It is never sold or shared outside of that process.

We match your ideal customer profile against the pool of confirmed Hosted Buyers based on the challenges and priorities they've shared with us.

We have remedies in place if a confirmed buyer doesn't attend, from a replacement meeting to event credit, so your team still gets the value of what you purchased.

Yes. Your profile captures who you sell to and what problems you solve, and matching is built around that criteria.

Proposed schedules are shared ahead of the show once buyer matching is complete, so you can review and confirm before you arrive.

Only the information needed to prepare for a confirmed meeting is shared. It cannot be used for any purpose outside the matching and meeting process.