Massive crowds throng IT Show 2009 closing day
By Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 15 March 2009 2052 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Despite the economic slump, IT Show 2009 generated a record S$58.5 million, which is S$4.5 million more than last year.

Vendors at the show were thrilled that customers came out in full force due to the massive bargains on offer.

The exhibition hall was not a place to be if you are claustrophobic. But if good bargains were what you were after, you were probably at Suntec Singapore over the weekend for the massive IT show.

It was one of the biggest exhibitions in Singapore with a floor area amounting to half a stadium.

But something you would never expect at a technology show happened on Saturday night - a technology glitch. For about an hour, customers were not able to make electronic payments as the lines went down.

One vendor reckoned her company lost at least S$30,000 as frustrated customers walked off.

But overall, vendors Channel NewsAsia spoke to said they were pleased with the better than expected turnout and remained bullish for upcoming exhibitions as well.

General manager of Epson Singapore, Felicia Gan, said: "Given that Singapore is a IT hub across the region - Singaporeans, youngsters are all IT freaks and gadget-savvy - so I think (the buying) will still happen. IT just changes too fast, so people will still buy (new gadgets)."

So, whether they were IT freaks or just gadget-savvy, it looked like Singaporeans just could not get enough of tech toys.

While many walked away with bargains, they also had to jostle with the large crowds. Coupled with the heavy rain, this resulted in a massive human jam at the adjoining underground City Link Mall, where many pedestrians tried to take shelter.

Callers to the MediaCorp news hotline said it was tough to get in or out of the underground mall. Mall operators closed some entrances to stop more people from entering and put marshals on duty.

- CNA/yt