Lighting Industry

  Big picture The Department of Labor’s rule (effective March 11, 2024) replaced the 2021 Trump-1.0‑era independent contractor rule and restored a broader, six‑factor “economic realities” test to decide whether a worker is an employee or a genuine independent business under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule makes it generally harder to classify [...]

  Google is promoting a new wave of “agentic commerce,” where AI agents not only answer questions but help shoppers to complete tasks and transactions end to end. Google’s new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and related tools are being adopted by major retailers like The Home Depot and Lowe’s to enable more seamless, personalized, and [...]

  The Q4 Pulse of Lighting reports that 2025 was a disappointing, essentially flat year for the lighting industry, with tariffs hurting project activity and masking weak unit volumes behind modest price-driven revenue stability. The quarterly Pulse of Lighting reports are produced by Channel Marketing Group (CMG). For Q4 2025, the Pulse of Lighting surveyed [...]

  Flying cars have been a sci-fi staple for almost a century. There is a type of small flying vehicle that is now very close to commercial production. An eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) is a new type of aircraft that uses electric power for vertical flight, allowing it to take off, hover, and land [...]

  Lighting Manufacturer M&A Transactions in the United States, Canada, and Europe Announcement Seller Country Description Buyer Details October X-Laser USA Laser Light Manufacturer Elation Lighting Press Article October Barn Light Electric USA Vintage-Inspired Architectural Lighting Illumus Press Article October Gavita Italy Horticultural Lighting Management Press Article October Cree Lighting USA Residential Lamp Portfolio Only [...]

  It’s that time of year to complete business planning for 2026. There are so many changes occurring in the lighting industry, how can you stay on top of them all? LightNOW is here to help. We’ve published our white paper, Lighting Industry Trends For 2026, sponsored by the good people at naturaLED. This white paper [...]

  One of the most critical technologies to enable widespread electrification of homes is battery energy storage systems (BESS). LightNOW frequently writes about how the lighting industry is adopting electrification products in the face of LED ubiquity, market contraction, and commoditization. Many lighting manufacturers now offer EV chargers, and some have moved on to offering [...]

  In 2025, the humanoid robot industry transitioned from experimental prototypes to early-stage industrial deployment. The adoption timeline is expected to follow a three-stage trajectory: moving from structured industrial environments to business services and eventually to private households. In industrial and logistics applications, there are currently less than 1,000 humanoid robots active in automotive factories and [...]

By Adam Reeder, President at LightArt and Vice President at 3form For years, the lighting industry has pursued two parallel paths: advancing technical and wellness-focused performance and exploring expressive, sculptural forms. What was once treated as a choice between aesthetics and function has increasingly become an integrated conversation fueled by curiosity and experimentation. Now more [...]