Just a few unorganized thoughts:

In some ways I think there's actually significant overlap between having the physical trade show and modern media communications. Although the show does have a significant cost, I suspect that the cost is much less than it would be if vendors had individual appointments with all the people they meet. I say this with both economic and environmental implications.

There is no doubt that the economic downturn has reduced attendance at OR. However, I also think it is precisely the increasing usage of electronic correspondence that has made people feel that missing the show is okay, that it isn't as "necessary" as it has been.

Meaningful relationships of all kinds, including vendor/buyer, can and do develop online. Shoot, my girlfriend knows a bunch of BPLers by name because I talk about y'all as though we just met at the pub for a pint of conversation. In some respects this is enough. However, there is also a point at which you need to physically see things. No OR would, I think, greatly increase sales call traffic, increasing travel costs, CO2 costs, and ultimately end product costs... because at the end of the day, particularly in buying for a retail store, physical presence and rack appeal are vitally important. There are some things you can only tell by visually inspecting and feeling. Many buyers will go to regional shows in place of OR, or do follow-up at the regional shows, though it isn't quite the same.

Although the cost of putting together OR is high, I think that doing away with the show, and/or the regional shows like it, could ultimately cause an increase in monies spent and an increase in environmental impact. I don't think it's a realistic idea to use the monies typically used for the show for land conservation or other such practices for that reason--although I like the idea behind it.

Anyway, that's my "brain dump" at the moment. Enjoy the show, and let's hope for a few UL wonders!