E-commerce Market For Lighting Industry Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends and Forecast (2026 - 2031)

Insights and Trends of E-commerce Market For Lighting Industry

Government Mandates For Phase-Out Of Incandescent Bulbs

A December 2024 United States Department of Energy rule obligates general service lamps to reach 120 lumens per watt efficacy by January 2028, effectively eliminating incandescent and most halogen SKUs from retail and digital shelves. Similar bans in the European Union, Canada and Australia converge to force accelerated LED substitution, trimming catalog clutter and steering consumers toward compliant alternatives. Certification portals require photometric test uploads before a product can be listed, raising market-entry barriers for small sellers without in-house labs. Clearance discounts on the final wave of legacy inventory teach shoppers to expect LED price parity, boosting search traffic for high-efficacy bulbs on major marketplaces. Utilities in California and New York now mail LED starter kits purchased through bulk e-procurement portals, normalizing online acquisition for lighting fixtures and building long-term digital buying habits.

Rising Adoption Of Energy-Efficient LED Fixtures

Commercial owners retrofit fluorescent troffers and HID bays with LED panels to meet tighter power-density caps that the International Energy Conservation Code 2021 introduced.^{[1]International Code Council, “International Energy Conservation Code,” ICCSAFE.ORG} The United States Department of Energy Better Buildings program documented average paybacks of 1.4-2.7 years and maintenance savings up to 80% for offices making the switch. Signify reported 87% of its EUR 1.647 billion (USD 1.81 billion) Q3 2024 sales came from LED-based products, underscoring the global skew toward high-efficacy luminaires. Asia-Pacific governments push adoption harder, India mandates LEDs in public buildings and China’s 14th Five-Year Plan targets 70% LED penetration in commercial spaces, funneling incremental demand to B2B e-commerce portals that aggregate certified fixtures. Online filters for lumen output and CCT compress procurement cycles from weeks to days, benefiting regional contractors.

Proliferation Of DIY Smart-Home Ecosystems

Matter versions 1.1 through 1.3 expand device classes and boost interoperability across Apple HomeKit, Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Samsung SmartThings. Shoppers now photograph a showroom pendant with Amazon Lens and receive instant links to compatible smart bulbs online, a feature whose usage jumped 76% during 2024. An EU consumer survey found 35% of households plan to buy smart-home products within 12 months, with lighting the favored entry category. U.S. respondents value open ecosystems, driving adoption of multi-brand kits sourced via marketplaces that label SKUs “Works with Matter.” Bundle discounts and drop-shipping lower entry barriers, fragmenting market share and intensifying price competition.

Increasing Refurbishment Of Commercial Real Estate

Vacancy rates topping 18% in many U.S. downtowns fuel landlord investment in wellness-certified upgrades, including tunable-white LEDs that cycle from 2700 K at dawn to 5000 K midday. Federal General Services Administration guidance demands ≥100 lumens per watt efficacy and CRI above 80, specifications buyers filter for on Acuity Brands and Signify portals. Peer-reviewed clinical studies link circadian lighting to better sleep and alertness, validating premium fixtures that capture 20-30% price premiums. Maintenance guides from CIBSE extend replacement intervals to 70 000 hours, reducing service calls and making online bulk orders more cost-effective.

High Return Rates Due To Product Damage In Transit

Lighting fixtures posted a 17.6% online return rate during 2024, the highest among durable goods categories, as reported by the National Retail Federation. Dimensional-weight pricing introduced by carriers inflates shipping costs on low-density pendants, squeezing margins unless sellers raise list prices and risk lower conversion. Free-return policies encourage buyers to test multiple color temperatures, elevating reverse-logistics volumes, while rural addresses still rely on multi-day ground services that add handling touches and increase breakage risk.

Fragmented Regulations On Cross-Border E-commerce

The European Union Digital Services Act forces marketplaces to verify seller identities and retain liability for VAT on low-value imports, prompting many small Chinese vendors to exit EU listings rather than assume compliance overhead. India’s BIS scheme can cost USD 15 000 per SKU and take nine months, and Japan’s PSE mark adds factory audits, reducing catalog breadth on local platforms. Duplicate photometric testing under DOE LM-79, IEC 62722 and JIS C 8105 triples certification budgets, delaying product launches by quarters and slowing cross-border scale-up.

Segment Analysis

By End-User: Residential Dominance Masks Commercial Velocity

The residential customer base produced 58.54% of e-commerce market for lighting industry share in 2025, sustained by do-it-yourself upgrades that swap incandescent cans for voice-controlled LEDs available in next-day assortments. Growing interoperability lets homeowners order multi-brand bundles, raising average order values even as bulb replacement cycles climb to a decade.^{[2]Connectivity Standards Alliance, “Matter Protocol Specifications,” CSA-IOT.ORG}

Commercial buyers, although smaller in spending today, are expected to expand at 7.83% CAGR through 2031 as landlords retrofit to satisfy city energy benchmarking laws and tenant wellness expectations. Federal procurement rules that require ≥100 lumens per watt push specifiers toward pre-certified SKUs, trimming bid timelines on B2B portals. The e-commerce market for lighting industrysize also gains from municipal smart-city tenders that order thousands of sensor-embedded luminaires in one click.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Product Type: Smart Controls Outpace Commodity Bulbs

LED bulbs and lamps captured 38.43% of 2025 revenue but face price erosion as generic A19 bulbs retail for under USD 2 on global marketplaces. Smart controls, however, are forecast to grow at 7.42% CAGR as Matter-certified retrofit dimmers exploit existing LED bases and create annuity-style firmware and cloud-storage income for vendors.

The e-commerce market for lighting industry attached to smart controls benefits from premium pricing and subscription analytics that monitor energy and occupancy. By contrast, traditional fluorescent and halogen SKUs decline in double digits after the 2028 DOE backstop removes sub-120-lumen-per-watt lamps from retail channels.

By Sales Channel: Marketplaces Cede Share To Direct Brands

Third-party marketplaces collected 48.77% of 2025 sales, underpinned by 2 million active Amazon merchants, but referral and fulfillment fees cut into profits and motivate manufacturers to pivot toward direct portals that are growing at 7.71% CAGR. “Buy with Prime” plugins let brands bolt Amazon logistics onto proprietary storefronts while retaining valuable first-party customer data.

Specialty e-tailers such as Build dot com curate architectural fixtures, charging premiums for design consultation, and corporate portals gate trade accounts with volume discounts. The e-commerce market for lighting industry share is likely to tilt gradually toward these direct environments as brands add interactive configurators, photometric simulations and subscription firmware services that marketplaces cannot replicate.

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By Delivery Model: Express Shipping Redefines Expectations

Standard ground held 54.43% of deliveries in 2025 because it remains cheapest for bulk orders, yet express and same-day services are advancing at an 8.12% CAGR as electric van fleets and urban drone corridors shorten lead times below two hours in core metros. Fewer handling nodes cut breakage on glass globes, encouraging contractors to pay premiums for reliable speed.

Click-and-collect resonates with urban shoppers who want instant pickup without paying delivery fees, while drop-shipping expands SKU variety but raises variability in packaging quality and transit times, increasing return risk. The bifurcation underscores an opportunity for specialized logistics providers to package fixtures securely and offer white-glove installation booked at checkout.

Geography Analysis

Asia-Pacific, the largest territory, held 40.42% of revenue in 2025 and is tracking an 8.31% CAGR through 2031 as tier-2 Indian cities and Indonesian metros leapfrog to two-hour quick-commerce deliveries of LED bulbs. China’s 14th Five-Year Plan sets a 70% LED penetration target in commercial properties, channelling state tenders toward domestic e-procurement sites. Mobile payment ubiquity via UPI and GrabPay unlocks new cohorts of shoppers previously constrained by cash-on-delivery limitations.

North America ranks second in e-commerce market for lighting industry, buoyed by stringent state energy codes, expansive same-day logistics grids and smart-home penetration that now exceeds 50% of broadband households. B2B portals integrate with contractor ERP systems, letting electricians auto-import BOMs and cut purchase orders in minutes.

Europe grows steadily on the back of the Digital Services Act, which purges unsafe imports and fortifies consumer trust while requiring marketplaces to shoulder VAT on low-value entries. Quick-commerce nodes in Paris, Berlin and Madrid promise two-hour delivery, yet cross-border fulfillment still grapples with divergent recycling-fee regimes and customs declarations.

Middle East momentum stems from smart-city programs; Saudi Arabia’s USD 500 billion NEOM earmarks networked streetlights with air-quality sensors, creating new bulk e-tender workflows. South America contends with high import tariffs but pockets of growth emerge in São Paulo where utilities offer LED rebates to curb rising electricity prices. Africa remains nascent at under 5% e-commerce penetration, but solar-LED kits paid through mobile-money are gaining traction in Kenya and Nigeria.