The CeBIT electronics trade fair, which closed on Saturday, has announced a new new concept for the 2011 edition.

The trade show will focus more on consumers in a bid to halt a decline which saw the number of exhibitors drop to 4,157 this year from a peak of 8,093 in 2001.

"We are going on the offensive,” said Ernst Raue, a member of the board of Deutsche Messe AG. The fair still ranks as the world’s biggest combined electronics fair, but today it is mainly devoted to business software. In future it will be restructured into four main areas covering business applications, the public sector, research institutes and private consumers and the internet world.

Consumers are the ones who provide the impetus for trends and topics, said Raue, adding that they are ones responsible for driving ahead with innovative technology.