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. 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.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.Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the detailed report include:
- Proliferation of DIY Smart-Home Ecosystems
- Increasing Refurbishment of Commercial Real Estate
- Fragmented Regulations on Cross-Border E-commerce
Segment Analysis
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.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 industry size also gains from municipal smart-city tenders that order thousands of sensor-embedded luminaires in one click.
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.
Complete Report Scope:
- By End-User
- Residential
- Commercial
- Industrial
- Municipal and Government
- By Product Type
- LED Fixtures
- LED Bulbs and Lamps
- Smart Lighting Controls
- Traditional Lighting
- By Sales Channel
- Brand-Owned Websites
- Third-Party Marketplaces
- Online Specialty Retailers
- By Delivery Model
- Standard Shipping
- Express/Same-Day Delivery
- Click-and-Collect
- Drop Shipping
- By Geography
- North America
- United States
- Canada
- Mexico
- South America
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Rest of South America
- Europe
- Germany
- United Kingdom
- France
- Spain
- Rest of Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- China
- Japan
- India
- South Korea
- Australia and New Zealand
- Rest of Asia-Pacific
- Middle East and Africa
- Middle East
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
- Turkey
- Rest of Middle East
- Africa
- South Africa
- Egypt
- Nigeria
- Rest of Africa
- Middle East
- North America
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 the 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.
List of Companies Covered in this Report:
- Signify N.V.
- AMS Osram AG
- Acuity Brands Inc.
- Savant Systems Inc.
- Dialight plc
- Hubbell Incorporated
- Zumtobel Group AG
- Panasonic Holdings Corporation
- Soraa Inc. (EcoSense Lighting)
- Cree Lighting U.S. LLC
- GE Current, a Daintree company
- Fagerhult Group
- Eaton Corporation plc
- Legrand S.A.
- Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.
- Feit Electric Company, Inc.
- IKEA Systems B.V.
- Nanoleaf Canada Ltd.
- Yeelight Technology Co., Ltd.
Additional Benefits:
- The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
- 3 months of analyst support
Table of Contents
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Signify N.V.
- AMS Osram AG
- Acuity Brands Inc.
- Savant Systems Inc.
- Dialight plc
- Hubbell Incorporated
- Zumtobel Group AG
- Panasonic Holdings Corporation
- Soraa Inc. (EcoSense Lighting)
- Cree Lighting U.S. LLC
- GE Current, a Daintree company
- Fagerhult Group
- Eaton Corporation plc
- Legrand S.A.
- Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.
- Feit Electric Company, Inc.
- IKEA Systems B.V.
- Nanoleaf Canada Ltd.
- Yeelight Technology Co., Ltd.

