For decades, Dallas Market Center has been the heartbeat of the residential lighting industry — home to Lightovation, the largest residential lighting trade event in North America. But the lighting industry is evolving, and so are we. Today, the question isn't just who is buying lighting — it's who matters most and how do we work together to bring them to Dallas?
Working hand-in-hand with our elected lighting board of governors, we have created a deliberate, data-driven audience development strategy built around three audiences: Design, Commercial, and Build. Each represents a distinct professional community with enormous influence over lighting specification and purchasing decisions. And each represents a significant growth opportunity for Lighting exhibitors in Dallas.
Here's how we are actively expanding the business of lighting — and what it means for brands showing here.
Design: Reaching the Audience Who Drives Premium Sales
Interior designers and hospitality design professionals are among the fastest-growing channels in the lighting industry. According to our surveys of Lightovation exhibitors, 63% of lighting brands report that interior designers are a growing driver of their business — up 7 points in just two years. Hospitality design has grown even faster, with 45% of brands citing it as a growth channel, up 6 points year over year. DMC is leaning into our strength as an open daily design center and leveraging that leadership to drive more traffic to Lighting showrooms.
We are pleased that recently several Trade Mart showrooms made the decision to be open daily, and that includes Craftmade, Varaluz x Ciana, Hubbardton Forge, and Eurofase, joining other Trade Mart showrooms Z-Lite, Market Lighting Services, Elegant, and Samsung. WAC is open most days. There are also lighting and home furnishings showrooms open daily in the World Trade Center and the Interior Home + Design Center.
During the Lightovation shows, we host Design + Build Day for the design, build, and retail community. In January 2026, we partnered with Interior Design magazine on programming and also a buyer-delivery platform called First Lightovation that launched with 29 interior designers from 15 states and one Canadian province — all first-time Lightovation attendees from leading firms. This is in addition to the designers who attended on their own. The feedback was remarkable: 100% said they were likely or very likely to recommend the experience to a colleague. Many noted they had never seen so much product in one place, and several came from markets — like San Francisco — with limited access to physical lighting showrooms.
For June 2026 Design + Build Day, which is on Tuesday, June 23, we are partnering with Business of Home and Custom Builder on programming and showroom tours that will attract interior designers.
In September 2026, we will host the national conference for ASID, the American Society of Interior Designers. This conference has never before been held inside a market center, and it’s a big opportunity for lighting brands to reach designers from coast to coast. The timing coincides with Dallas Design Week and ArchLIGHT Summit.
Beyond markets and trade events, we launched a Design Ambassador Program on May 5— a year-long initiative partnering with six leading Dallas-based interior designers who will promote DMC and its exhibitors to their audiences, curate product picks, and serve as guides and hosts throughout the year. The cohort includes principals from Burkle Creative, Maestri, Yates Design, Fonde Interiors, Pulp Design Studios, and Coco & Dash—firms with a national reach.
Many of you are probably familiar with our Lighting Concierge program, led by DMC's own Arturo Maluy. Arturo consults with designers on lighting projects, opens showrooms for product reviews, and facilitates orders. He continues to deliver measurable results — total specifications were up 18% year over year, and appointments with designers were up 14%.
Finally, DMC's design audience strategy also includes media partnerships with Business of Home, ASID, NEWH, IDS, and Interior Design/Metropolis.
Commercial: Architects, Electrical Distributors, and the Specification Community
The commercial channel — encompassing electrical distributors, architects, lighting designers, and specifiers — remains one of the most valuable audiences for lighting brands. Architectural specification is cited by 48% of Lightovation exhibitors as a growing channel, and electrical distributors, while the third-ranked channel overall, represent significant volume.
That DMC commitment begins with ArchLIGHT Summit, our trade event held each September and overlapping Dallas Design Week. ArchLIGHT Summit is the fastest growing lighting event in North America, and where the full ecosystem of architectural and commercial lighting — manufacturers, sales reps, specifiers, architects, lighting designers, engineers, control experts, integrators, and educators — comes together in a purpose-built environment to advance the discipline of light and engage in the productive exchange of ideas, inspiration, and commerce. While the show features booths for lease on a tradeshow floor, permanent showrooms also participate in the event. And it continues to grow. What makes the show special is not only the quality of exhibitors but also the education and the organizations that participate. More information is available at the website: www.archlightsummit.com.
DMC's visual support for this category is on display as a special installation called Exteriorscape, launched in January 2026 on Trade Mart 3. This is a purpose-built outdoor lighting exhibit designed to attract architects, landscape designers, and lighting specifiers who work in the outdoor and commercial space. The display will expand in June 2026, and a second Exteriorscape display will open on the 4th floor in January 2027, featuring wet and damp-rated fixtures designed for covered outdoor spaces.
For architects specifically, DMC has built a strong relationship with AIA Dallas, with digital marketing to local architects performing well. The focus in 2027 will emphasize hospitality programming — an angle that resonates strongly with the architectural audience. Meanwhile, the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Dallas engagement is year-round. IES Dallas is meeting at DMC monthly for Lunch & Learns, and they have now held their annual awards event at DMC successfully for two years in a row.
Commercial travel incentives and media placements in LD+A (the official IES publication) and Metropolis round out a strategy designed to ensure that the specification community sees Lightovation not just as a residential show, but as a resource for their entire practice.
Build: Custom Builders, Remodelers, and the Kitchen & Bath Trade
The Build pillar represents one of the most exciting growth opportunities for the lighting industry — and one that we think is underserved. Custom builders and remodelers influence lighting selections in virtually every room of the homes they build, yet many have historically had limited engagement with the lighting trade market. Kitchen & Bath professionals are in a similar position: specifying and selling lighting every day, but may not consider sourcing in Dallas. DMC is changing that.
Kitchen & Bath Design News has become one of DMC's most effective outlets for lead generation among K&B professionals — qualified buyers who arrive in Dallas ready to source. The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) is a central programming partner, having hosted a popular afternoon of programming at January 2026 Lightovation — presenting its 2026 Kitchen and Bath Trends reports, hosting a panel, and leading exhibitor tours. The partnership will continue to grow in January 2027, with NKBA presenting its trend forecast live at Lightovation and pursuing year-round engagement through local chapter events.
For custom builders, Custom Builder magazine provides targeted digital marketing to the segment most likely to attend and find immediate value in what Lightovation has to offer. On a regional basis, D Home magazine’s Best Builders & Architects — a prestigious local program — will host 100 to 150 top DFW builders and architects in August, with direct retargeting to drive Lightovation attendance in January.
But serving this sector doesn’t have to tie in with the timing of Lightovation. Group training events are a powerful model for reaching Build and commercial audiences outside the traditional market cycle. Ferguson, one of the largest distributors of plumbing, HVAC, and lighting products in the country, brought approximately 70 associates from 49 locations to Dallas in August 2025 for training sessions with 13 Lightovation exhibitors. Plans are underway for a similar event in July 2026. Gross Lighting & Home / Indiana Lighting followed a similar model in February 2026, bringing nearly 50 employees from Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan locations for showroom training sessions across 20 exhibitors.
Looking further ahead, to 2028, DMC has partnered with the organizers of NAHB's The New American Home at IBS on a Wellness at Home Show Home — an 11,000-square-foot residence just 6 miles from campus that will serve as a living showcase of innovation focused on health, wellness, and vitality. Lightovation is the official lighting and ceiling fan sponsor, with exhibitor products featured throughout. The project will be featured in ProBuilder magazine — reaching an audience of 130,000 builders — and will serve as a programming centerpiece for January 2028 Design + Build Day.
The Bigger Picture
The lighting industry is at a pivotal moment. Traditional retail lighting showrooms remain the top channel for most brands, but the channels driving growth tell a different story: interior designers, hospitality, Kitchen & Bath, and architectural specification are all trending upward. The brands that win in the next decade will be the ones reaching those audiences today.
Dallas Market Center is making an investment with you— in programming, partnerships, media, and travel incentives — to ensure that lighting events at Dallas Market Center, including Lightovation, support your business according to growth targets and audiences.
The business of light is expanding. Dallas is where it comes together.