Why Lighting is winning attention from US retailers at High Point Market 2025?

Every October, High Point Market turns North Carolina into the heartbeat of American home retail. But this fall, one category is stealing nearly every buyer’s attention — lighting. 

US home decor retailers are rigorously evaluating every category for margin performance and supply chain resilience. Amid tariffs, freight pressure and shifting consumer habits, lighting stands out as a margin-friendly, speed-enabled, design-forward category.

Photo from High Point Market Authority

Lighting’s Market Moment

Globally, the lighting category is on a bright trajectory. The market reached USD 151.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit USD 223.3 billion by 2030 (Grand View Research). North America already commands more than a fifth of that growth — and U.S. home retailers are cashing in.

Decorative and smart lighting now make up over 42% of U.S. lighting revenue, as consumers use light to create mood, personality, and identity in their spaces. It’s no longer functional — it’s emotional.

In hospitality and commercial spaces, connected lighting systems are turning ceilings into design statements. And in luxury outdoor areas — from coastal patios to resort lounges — design-led, weatherproof lighting is reshaping the visual language of American leisure.

Across every segment, lighting is proving itself as one of the most versatile, profitable, and future-ready categories in wholesale home decor today.

A Category That Protects Margin

High Perceived Value

Lighting fixtures typically command a higher perceived value relative to their manufacturing cost. Because lighting combines form and function (design, finish, mood, illumination), retailers are able to apply stronger markup compared to many flat decor items or bulky furniture pieces. The abstraction of value in lighting (finish, design, mood-setting) gives retailers room to protect margin.

Freight and Flexibility

One of lighting’s hidden strengths lies in logistics: lighting fixtures tend to be lighter in weight and more compact in volume, which improves freight efficiency, reduces volumetric surcharges, and stabilizes landed cost per unit. For retailers importing into U.S. ports, this contributes directly to margin resilience.

A typical container can carry hundreds of mixed-category SKUs — lighting, mirrors, planters, storage boxes — reducing per-unit freight cost. With global shipping costs still volatile, mixed-factory, mixed-category loads help stabilize margin.

Design Premiums That Sell

Lighting supports tiered pricing via finishes (brushed brass, smoked glass), smart features (dimmable LEDs, app control) or statement form (sculptural pendants). In a retail environment—such as High Point Market or Florida store floors—lighting can serve as a hero item, raising the perception of the broader assortment and driving add-on sales.

For multi‐location retailers in US, this means lighting can serve as a profitable “hero” category: one designed piece that leads to add-on décor purchases and incremental basket growth.

Tariff Turbulence, Smarter Sourcing

Amid the tariff turbulence shaping 2025’s buying decisions, one question keeps surfacing: Where should the next collections be made?

As new U.S. trade actions increase duties on China-made goods, many retailers are reassessing category by category — not just chasing lower cost, but balancing risk, reliability, and craft. That’s where Vietnam is stepping forward as a serious production hub.

With decades of skilled artisanship and ready access to natural materials like rattan, bamboo, seagrass, and clay, Vietnam’s factories are proving adept at high-quality, handcrafted lighting and decor. It’s the kind of capability that bridges design and performance — where woven textures, plaster finishes, and hand-brushed metalwork translate into premium collections with authentic character.

Unlike categories that can easily shift to automated domestic production, lighting remains rooted in material craft. The handwork, finishing, and small-batch customization that give these pieces their warmth and personality are precisely what make the category both tariff-optimized and margin-resilient.

For buyers walking High Point Market, that combination — artistry, flexibility, and smart country-of-origin planning — is the quiet edge behind this season’s most strategic assortments.

Lighting Trends at High Point Fall Market 2025

Lighting trends at High Point Market Fall 2025 featuring pendants, chandeliers, and decorative lamps

Photos from High Point Market Authority

Artful forms and decorative detail

Lighting may be romanticized as the “jewelry of a room,” but this season’s pieces earn the comparison. Think pearly glass orbs suspended on gold chains, alabaster pendants anchored by brushed brass, and patterned fabric shades that glow like crafted ornaments—each fixture adding character rather than just light.

Handmade is the new differentiation

Retailers are gravitating toward lighting that feels intentional—mouth-blown glass, hand-sculpted ceramics, glazed finishes. In a market saturated with mass-produced fixtures, craftsmanship is what creates separation. Small-batch collections from artisan makers are drawing the most attention, and handcrafted details continue to command both wholesale and retail premiums.

Natural materials and earth tones dominate

The palettes setting the tone this season are grounded in nature: moss green, butter yellow, denim blue, sunbaked ochre, warm peach, and sea-washed teal. These aren’t trend colors—they’re craft colors, drawn from real materials and traditional palettes. Combined with rattan, terra-cotta, and hand-shirred textiles, they evoke a grounded, timeless mood.

In Short

Lighting’s rise at High Point Market 2025 isn’t luck. It’s the category that delivers design impact, sourcing agility, tariff advantage, and freight efficiency — all while protecting margin.

For U.S. retailers balancing cautious budgets and competitive expectations, lighting isn’t just decoration. It’s strategy.

At Rockhill America, we help $200M–$2B retailers build direct-to-factory lighting collections without expanding their import teams. With flexible MOQs, a vetted supplier network across Vietnam and China, and cross-category consolidation logistics, we make it easy to test, scale, and refresh lighting assortments at market speed.