Consumer Insight Now has released the results of their August 2025 consumer shopper’s survey. You may be aware of this because of the stats on lighting (22% of those surveyed plan on buying lamps and 11% planned on buying lighting fixtures in 2025.) As lighting people, this is of course interesting, but as I dig deeper into the data, I think there is additional information we can glean.
At some point in the past, I attended a window dressing conference in Baltimore. Honestly, it was very underwhelming, but flights to Baltimore were very inexpensive at the time and I did not know what I could learn there. It could have been a bonanza, like my first ICFF. While walking the convention hall, someone looked at my badge and said, “Lighting? What are you doing at a conference covering shades and drapes?”
I told the person that we are all in the house together. A home consists of furniture, wall coverings, plumbing, appliances, floor covering, window dressing and lighting. If we hope to deliver a product that blends effortlessly with all of the other things a consumer purchases, we need to understand them just as deeply as we embrace our own product categories. Hence, the reason I’ve dug into this survey. Following are a few observations on in-store vs. online preference I’ve pulled from this report.
- On average, 70% of the surveyed consumers prefer to shop in a store, with 30% favoring online purchases. If you look at the reason for the preference, it is almost a yin for yang relationship.
- Store shoppers want sales associates assistance, online shoppers feel salespeople pressure them
- Prices are lower online and higher at a retail location
- Stores have a smaller selection, but include displays and use ideas. Online sellers have a wide selection, but include reviews and a full set of specifications not available in the store.
- Intuitively, we know that the older the consumer, the more they rely on legacy purchasing habits, so Boomers are more inclined to shop in a brick and mortar location. Young Millennials still prefer a store, but by a substantially smaller margin. Here’s the interesting thing; that number is ticking up for Gen Z (ages 18-28 in 2025.) This could be a good thing for retailers, IF they know how to service that customer. Will we embrace this new customer, or alienate them?
- Income has VERY little to do with preference of retailer vs. online. Customers earning less than $50K and over $100K have exactly the same preferences, with only a 3% uptick for those in-between.
- Whether you like to shop for furniture, or you loath it, there is little difference in preference in stores vs. e-comm.
- There is almost no difference in the retailer type if you want it now, or can wait months for delivery.
- Across income, generational demographics and preference to retailer, people feel confident choosing furniture.
- For those consumers who prefer a store, touch, feel, visualization, comfort and quality cannot be replaced with the perceived “risk” of purchasing online. A perceived higher-quality is also a factor for those who want to use a local retailer.
The survey also leaves us with improvements consumers would like to see to make in-store shopping easier.
- Eliminate the pushy sales people
- Clear and prominent pricing
- Better access to “more information”
- Better, enhanced technology
Why do people who shop online prefer that method?
- No sales people
- Prominent pricing
- Lots of data and information
- Visualization tools
- Free shipping
Comparing these two lists, you again see the yin and yang, with one exception, shipping. I continue to be amazed at how popular “free shipping” has become. Since moving into our new home, we have paid plenty of money over and above the cost of a product in shipping costs from local retailers. Has anyone considered the opposite? Include the shipping in the cost and offer a reduction if the customer wants to pick it up? It could put them on equal footing with online retailers. Mark your store as a “Free Delivery” destination. No one knows why audiences inexplicably applauds when a theatrical chorus line kicks in unison, but they do. Join the chorus.
One last comparison is also of note. The survey revealed a four year progression of sales percentages according to categories. Between 2022 and 2025, MOST have inched toward a preference for online purchases, except sofas and only by a single percentage. In the reverse is lighting. In 2022 59% of lighting was purchased in a store, 41% online. In 2025 that ratio is 61% to 39%. A small, but perhaps meaningful shift. What could cause that? Statistical error? Consumer dissatisfaction? That is unclear, but it could be something on which to capitalize.
What to Do?
As with almost everything I write here, I try to interpolate any data I explore into a value for lighting. How do I improve my position with this information? Were I a retailer, I’d look at the four previously mentioned yin-yang bullet points. If you have a storefront, learn how your salespeople interact with customers, determine how you might provide better pricing visibility, and be ready with added data if a consumer shows interest. (Perhaps a QR Code be placed on a product to direct the visitor to more information.) Finally, how can a brick and mortar lighting store introduce more technology to help the consumer better visualize their future purchase. If you are an online retailer, why are purchases slowing? Is the need to “touch and feel,” like the sofa channel, so clear that a reverse is inevitable?
As of today, the Gen Z demographic is still up for grabs. They still remain a sliver of influence in the home retail space, but they should not be ignored. They will be an important factor in the next decade. It is time to cultivate them now.
Surveys and data can contain interesting visions and helpful tips. Ignoring information from related industries is typically a mistake. To better understand your business, learn from as many sources as possible.
Lighting by Jeffrey 