By Maggie Swift, CEO at Unframed Digital
Lighting specifiers are no longer discovering products the way manufacturers expect them to. In 2026, architects, designers, and engineers are doing the majority of their product research independently – online, on demand, and often long before a trade show visit or a conversation with a sales representative takes place.
Recent survey data from Unframed Digital, based on responses from 783 architects, designers, and builders, illustrates just how dramatic this shift has become. More than half of design professionals now begin their lighting product research with organic Google searches, while trade shows account for a much smaller share of early discovery.
It represents a significant shift in how lighting products are found, evaluated, and ultimately specified, and it has significant implications for manufacturers, marketers, and sales teams alike.
The Shift to Digital Discovery
The survey revealed several critical statistics about product discovery in 2025:
- 98% of design professionals now shop for products online
- 29% never look past the first page of Google results
- 70% say Page 1 visibility directly impacts their purchasing decisions
- 64% need specs and BIM files accessible online to even consider a product
This isn’t a gradual evolution; it’s a complete inversion of how product discovery worked just five years ago. Trade shows haven’t disappeared, but they’ve shifted from discovery venues to relationship-building and deeper product engagement opportunities. By the time specifiers reach a trade show booth, they’ve often already researched products online.
What Specifiers Need to Find Online
The survey identified specific requirements that determine whether a product enters consideration at all. Technical specifications must be comprehensive and immediately downloadable. The respondents emphasized that photometric data, dimensions, electrical requirements, and installation details should be readily available, not hidden behind contact forms or gated downloads. If the information isn’t accessible within a few clicks, specifiers might simply move to the next manufacturer.
BIM and Revit files have transitioned from a competitive advantage to a baseline expectation. With most architectural and engineering firms operating in BIM environments, the absence of these files can eliminate a product from consideration before any conversation happens. One architect in the survey put it bluntly: “If there’s no Revit family, the product doesn’t exist for us.”
Pricing transparency emerged as increasingly important. While exact pricing varies by project scope and volume, specifiers expect ballpark figures or price ranges online. The traditional model of requiring a phone call just to understand if a product fits within budget creates friction that many specifiers won’t tolerate in the early research phase.
Page 1 Visibility: The New Make-or-Break Factor
Perhaps the most sobering finding: if a product brand doesn’t appear on the first page of Google results for relevant searches, they’re essentially invisible during the discovery phase.
This creates significant challenges for smaller manufacturers and those in specialized categories. Digital visibility has become a prerequisite for consideration, not merely a marketing advantage. A lighting manufacturer might produce the perfect downlight for a project, but if it doesn’t appear in search results when an architect types “low-glare LED downlight 3000K CRI 90+,” that perfect product will likely never be evaluated.
How the Specification Journey Actually Works
The research revealed a clear pattern in how lighting products move from discovery to specification:
Phase 1: Digital Discovery
Specifiers begin with broad online searches, typically using specific technical criteria. They’re looking for products that meet baseline requirements: light output, color temperature, CRI, form factor, and application suitability. At this stage, they might review 8-10 different products across multiple manufacturers.
Phase 2: Technical Evaluation
Once they’ve identified promising options, specifiers dive deeper. They download photometric reports, review IES files, check energy compliance, verify dimensions against space constraints, and compare features across their shortlist. This phase happens almost entirely online, often late at night or between meetings.
Phase 3: Expert Consultation and Project Support
This is where sales representatives and agencies become essential to the process.
After specifiers have narrowed their options to 2-3 viable products, they engage with reps for:
- Complex specification questions and technical clarifications
- Custom photometric calculations and lighting layouts
- Value engineering alternatives when budget constraints emerge
- Integration guidance for controls and building systems
- Local code compliance verification
- Submittal preparation and project documentation
- Post-installation support and commissioning assistance
The critical insight: sales reps remain absolutely vital to successful lighting specifications, but they’re now entering the conversation at a different point in the journey. Specifiers arrive at these conversations more informed and with more specific questions. The consultative sale has become genuinely consultative; reps who can provide sophisticated technical guidance and project support are more valuable than ever.
But reps can only sell products that specifiers discover in the first place. If a manufacturer’s digital presence is weak, their reps might not get the opportunity to demonstrate their expertise.
Category-Specific Insights for Lighting
We examined shopping patterns across multiple product categories, and lighting demonstrated particularly strong digital research behaviors:
Specification-grade architectural lighting showed the most extensive online research patterns. Specifiers typically review detailed photometric data, CRI specifications, dimming compatibility, and installation requirements for multiple products before ever contacting a manufacturer or rep.
Controls and smart lighting systems showed slightly higher early engagement with sales reps, likely due to integration complexity and the need for system-level consultations. However, even here, initial product discovery and feature comparison happened online first.
Emergency and code-required lighting maintained somewhat more traditional discovery patterns, possibly because compliance requirements often drive product selection before aesthetic or performance features are considered.
What This Means for Lighting Manufacturers
The implications for marketing strategy are clear and urgent:
Invest in SEO and organic search visibility – This means optimizing product pages for the specific technical terms specifiers actually use when searching. “Recessed LED downlight” is too generic; “4-inch recessed LED downlight 3000K 90 CRI hospital-grade” is what specifiers type.
Build comprehensive digital asset libraries – Specs, BIM files, photometric data, IES files, installation guides, cut sheets, and submittal documentation should all be easily accessible. Consider this your 24/7 showroom that works while your reps sleep.
Provide pricing frameworks – You don’t need to publish exact prices, but ranges, starting prices, or typical project costs help specifiers self-qualify products and determine if deeper exploration is worthwhile.
Optimize for mobile. The survey found 42% of initial searches happen on smartphones, often while specifiers are on job sites or in meetings. If your website doesn’t work well on mobile, you’re losing nearly half your potential discovery opportunities.
Integrate digital discovery with rep networks – Your website should make it easy for specifiers to connect with local reps once they’ve done their initial research. The digital experience should enhance, not replace, the human expertise your reps provide.
The good news: manufacturers who invest in a strong digital presence can maintain visibility at a fraction of the cost of perpetual trade show circuits. The companies that win in 2025 and beyond will be those that seamlessly blend digital discovery with expert sales consultation.
Lighting specifiers are already shopping digitally. The question isn’t whether this shift is happening; it’s whether manufacturers will adapt their strategies to meet specifiers where they actually are.
The manufacturers who recognize this reality and build the digital infrastructure to support it, while empowering their sales teams to provide expert consultation at the right moment, will be the ones whom professionals find, evaluate, and ultimately specify.
About The Author:
Maggie Swift is CEO at Unframed Digital, a leading SEO and content strategy agency specializing in large-scale architecture, interior design, and global and international product brand industries. With over 25 years of combined expertise, the agency partners with growth-oriented marketing teams to deliver measurable results through tailored, data-driven strategies. Clients, including Rocky Mountain Hardware and Engel & Völkers, rely on Unframed Digital to drive profitable organic growth, managing more than $3 million in annual SEO click value.
Recognized as a 2025 Netty Award winner for Top Digital Agencies in Los Angeles, Unframed Digital is the only global AI & SEO firm dedicated exclusively to product brands in design and construction. The agency’s expertise blends technical excellence with a deep understanding of design, empowering brands to outperform competitors, optimize digital ecosystems, and achieve long-term business value. Unframed Digital leadership has been featured in industry press and at events, including USA Today, Business.com, Homify, a Business of Home workshop, and Design Chicago, with additional speaking engagements planned for Kitchen and Bath Business.
Top image by Ivan S.
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