The 2025 Halloween season has concluded, and the global festive lighting market has reached new heights: Data from the National Retail Federation (NRF) shows that total Halloween spending in the US reached $11.7 billion, with lighting decorations accounting for 32%, an 8 percentage point increase from 2024.
Reviewing the 2025 market performance, three product categories successfully broke through, and two key rules became crucial for survival. Looking ahead to 2026, four major trends are clear. Bright Max has already strategically positioned its new product matrix to provide strong support for global buyers to seize holiday opportunities.
Three Product Categories Break Through
- Smart Interactive Lighting Becomes a Traffic Engine
Interactive lighting fixtures dominate the market. The Magic Wand Controlled LED Flameless Candle Light achieved sales of over 21,000 units in 28 days, generating nearly $200,000 in revenue, with a month-on-month increase of 6937.56% in July.
- Demand for solar-powered outdoor lights explodes
The rising popularity of outdoor decorative scenarios has driven a surge in sales of solar-powered lights. Bestseller lists show that solar-powered pumpkin lanterns and ground-mounted ghost lanterns dominate the top 5 outdoor festive lights.
- Emotionally-oriented lights tap into niche markets.
Lights with emotional expression emerge as a dark horse. "Face-changing" pumpkin lanterns, with their cute expressions of anxiety and evil, resonate with audiences, achieving daily sales of 200 units and tens of millions of views on TikTok.
Two Key Rules Determine Survival
- Style shift
From horror to emotional resonance. Traditional dark themes are fading, with bright colors like green and pink joining the Halloween color scheme. TikTok data shows that the #HalloweenMagic hashtag has garnered over 2 billion views, and searches for IP-inspired lights have increased by 300% year-on-year, confirming the demand for "light horror + strong atmosphere." Bright Max has capitalized on this color shift, offering a pink pumpkin lantern series for Halloween lighting products. The cute and comforting pumpkins and ghosts add a unique touch to the Halloween season.
- Value Upgrade
A Dual Bottom Line of Compliance and Practicality With the EU market tightening its regulations, and a case of a brand being recalled due to excessive DEHP levels in its light strings, EN 60598 standards and the RoHS2 directive have become stringent procurement requirements. Bright Max's entire product line has passed testing and issued DoC declarations ahead of schedule, while also strengthening its "multi-purpose" attribute-light strings that can be used throughout the Christmas season, increasing their lifecycle value by 60% compared to single-holiday products.
2026 Hot Item Forecast and New Product Recommendations
- AI-Driven Deep Integration Lighting
Building on the explosive growth of smart lighting in 2025, 2026 will see an advancement towards "AI perception + automatic adaptation." Lighting fixtures with sound sensing (automatic dimming upon detecting screams) and human tracking functions are expected to grow by 50%, and programmable LED lights supporting customized light effects rhythm via an app will become popular.
- Sustainable Upgrades
Solar panel conversion efficiency will be increased to over 25%, and USB-C charging dual-mode will solve the battery life problem on cloudy days; cornstarch-based biodegradable shell lamps benefit from favorable policies, complying with EU carbon tariff requirements, and can command a premium of up to 20%.
- DIY Interactive Kits
The TikTok hashtag #HalloweenDIY, with 4.74 billion views, has fueled a DIY craze, making lamps with graffiti functionality and modular light sets (basic string lights + detachable accessories) the new favorites.
- Pet-Friendly Lighting
The pet decoration market's 40% growth rate is driving segmented demand, with bite-proof patio lights and pet-shaped nightlights poised to become blue ocean markets, and the North American household market expected to double in growth.
Seizing the Holiday Market Opportunity with Technology and Compliance: The strong sales in 2025 validated the product logic of "intelligent, sustainable, and high-experience." In 2026, Bright Max will continue to leverage AI technology as its engine, proactively implementing compliance and innovation. We welcome global buyers to connect and cooperate, and share the benefits of the holiday market growth!
