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March 11, 2025    Photo of Rebecca Miller    Rebecca Miller

The Big List of Event Statistics for 2025

Events. Whether you’re planning them, attending them, or simply trying to survive them, there’s always so much to keep up with.

This year, some of the big things people are talking about are creating highly personalized events, using shiny new tech (ahem, AI), and (finally) figuring out what’s keeping them from proving real ROI.

We’ve rounded up a ton of event marketing statistics to help you figure all of this out. What’s working? What’s not? Where is everyone putting their time, money, and energy?

Grab a coffee (or something stronger) and let’s take a look. You’re gonna want to bookmark this one (and all the research linked, too).

Event Strategy

  • 71% of event professionals say they use events equally for acquiring and keeping customers. (Swoogo)
  • 21% of event organizers say their events are used mostly for customer retention. (Swoogo)
  • Companies using events primarily for customer retention are 13% more likely to have an average year-over-year growth rate of more than 10%. (Swoogo)
  • The global event marketing industry has a projected market size of $722.67 billion by 2028.
  • 44% of marketers say that focusing on the customer and the brand experience became more important to them in the past year. (HubSpot)
  • 96% of marketers say that personalized experiences have increased sales. (HubSpot)
  • 21% of event professionals say getting the right attendees in the door is their top challenge for 2025. This is the #2 challenge, behind boosting attendee engagement and getting budget and buy-in (both tied for #1). (Swoogo)

Event Planning

  • 41% of event professionals are hosting more events in 2025. (Swoogo)
  • Only 6% of event professionals are hosting fewer events in 2025. (Swoogo)
  • 94% of event professionals are hosting at least the same number of events in 2025, if not more. (Swoogo)
  • In-person micro events hosted on Swoogo increased 16% in 2024. (Swoogo)
  • Companies investing in micro events are 15% more likely to have an average year-over-year growth rate of 20% or more. (Swoogo)
  • Nearly half (45%) of event professionals said their companies are committed to hosting micro events this year. (Swoogo)
  • Enterprise companies are 22% more likely to invest in micro events. (Swoogo)
  • Community and customer events is the #1 event type teams are running, with 59% of event organizers saying it’s on their calendar. (Swoogo)
  • 52% of event professionals are running internal events. (Swoogo)
  • 22% of event professionals say getting budget and buy-in is their biggest challenge for 2025. This is the #1 challenge, tied with boosting attendee engagement. (Swoogo)
  • 66% of event professionals anticipate bigger budgets in 2025. (Amex GBT)

Event ROI and Data

  • 50% of event professionals think that demonstrating event ROI is a top stressor. (Swoogo)
  • The #1 event KPI that event professionals track is registrations, followed closely by attendance rate. (Swoogo)
  • Event ROI is the #3 most important KPI for event professionals. (Swoogo)
  • Enterprise companies are 57% more likely to say ROI is a priority KPI for their events. (Swoogo)
  • Enterprise companies are 68% more likely to say pipeline is a priority event KPI. (Swoogo)
  • 44% of event professionals think AI will be this year’s biggest trend in events. (Swoogo)
  • 36% of event organizers mention generative AI specifically as the biggest event trend for 2025. (Swoogo)
  • 24% of event professionals think building the right audiences for micro events will be this year’s biggest trend. (Swoogo)
  • 92% of marketers say that AI has impacted their role already. (HubSpot)

In-Person Events

  • Companies hosted 12% more in-person events in 2024, and it was the only event format to increase. (Swoogo)
  • 40% of event professionals are running conference wraparound events. (Swoogo)
  • In-person meetings and events are the #1 choice for event format, with 59% saying they run in-person events only. (Amex GBT)
  • In-person events are the #1 source for buyers to discover a new product or service. (Freeman)

Virtual and Hybrid Events

  • Companies hosted 25% fewer hybrid events on Swoogo in 2024. (Swoogo)
  • Almost half (47%) of event organizers have hosted hybrid events in the past, but have no plans to host them in the future. (Swoogo)
  • The #1 reason why event professionals are done with hybrid events: engagement isn’t high enough (54%). (Swoogo)
  • 48% of event professionals say that hybrid events take away from the event experience for in-person attendees. (Swoogo)
  • 34% of event organizers say that connecting the virtual and in-person experiences is too difficult. (Swoogo)
  • 51% of event professionals are running webinars. (Swoogo)

Event Experience

  • 22% of event professionals say boosting attendee engagement is their biggest challenge for 2025. This is the #1 challenge, tied with getting budget and buy-in. (Swoogo)
  • Event content is the top factor for a memorable attendee experience (38%). (Amex GBT)
  • With a bigger budget, event professionals would choose to improve the on-site experience as their #1 priority. (Amex GBT)
  • More than half (54%) of professionals think sustainability in events is important. (Amex GBT)
  • 64% of event attendees say immersive experiences is the #1 element for a positive event experience. (Freeman)
  • 45% of event attendees say customized agenda plans is a top element for a positive event experience. (Freeman)

Event Technology

  • 44% of event professionals don’t have their event management platform connected to their CRM. (Swoogo)
  • 69% of event organizers don’t have their event technology connected to their marketing automation platform. (Swoogo)
  • Only 33% of event organizers have their event management platform connected to internal communications tools. (Swoogo)
  • 39% of B2B companies don’t connect their event technology to their CRM. (Swoogo)
  • 64% of B2B companies don’t connect their event technology to their marketing automation platform. (Swoogo)
  • 27% of planners say integrations are a challenge in deploying event technology. (Amex GBT)
  • 27% of planners also say lack of buy-in from leadership is a challenge in deploying event technology. (Amex GBT)
  • 44% of event attendees say technology that makes consuming the event easier is a top element for a positive event experience. (Freeman)

Conclusion

There you have it. Whether 2025 is the year you tackle attendee engagement, proving the value of your events, or making AI your new bestie, there’s no shortage of opportunity this year.

Happy event-ing!