A Trillion-Yuan Night Economy Boom: The Lighting Industry Is Using Light to Reshape a ¥50 Trillion Market

As the lights of the 2025 Shanghai Nightlife Festival illuminate Sunke Villa (上生·新所), the lighting industry is witnessing the dawn of a new era. In the evolution of the night-time economy—from mere "after-dark consumption" to a comprehensive "reconstruction of time-space experiences"—lighting systems have moved beyond basic functionality to become core enablers of urban nightlife vitality.

Recent research shows that China's night economy reached a market size of ¥50.25 trillion in 2023. Technological innovations in lighting are now emerging as a key lever in unlocking the immense potential of this vast market.

Lighting Technology Redefines the New Dimensions of Urban Nightlife

According to data from China's Ministry of Commerce, 60% of urban consumption in China occurs at night. For large shopping centers, transactions made between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. account for more than half of total daily sales. In the tourism sector, nighttime consumption contributes three times more to per capita spending than daytime activities.

Behind this "golden nighttime effect," lighting systems are redefining consumption experiences through three key dimensions:

The transformation of spatial and temporal boundaries through lighting is vividly exemplified in Chongqing's Jiefangbei Central Business District

Ranked first nationally for nighttime consumption in 2024, the district extended its business hours to 2:00 a.m. through LED lighting renovations. By combining dynamic light storytelling on architectural media façades, it achieved a 40% increase in per-square-meter consumption output. This "lighting + commerce" model is being replicated nationwide. For instance, Nanjing's Xinjiekou commercial district partnered with the historic Fuzimiao area to launch the "Night Jinling" brand, using customized light shows to turn traditional streets into immersive consumption zones. As a result, nighttime foot traffic in 2024 rose 35% year-on-year.

The interactive revolution of smart lighting has turned Shanghai's Suhewan "Waterfront Light Corridor" into a benchmark project

The area employs AI dimming systems that adjust brightness in real time based on pedestrian flow. When crowds gather, the lighting shifts to festive mode, synced with background music. A report by JLL and Jing'an District on the "Suhewan Vitality Index" reveals that this smart lighting strategy extended average nighttime dwell time by 27 minutes and boosted nearby dining revenue by 22%. Meanwhile, companies like Foshan Lighting are pioneering "interactive lighting floor tiles" that trigger ripple effects with each pedestrian step—bringing technological playfulness into nighttime consumption.

Cultural IP translation through lighting is breathing new life into intangible cultural heritage

During the 2025 Lunar New Year (Year of the Snake), Quanzhou's "Sterculia Flower" light show transformed traditional papercutting into 3D light projections. This "intangible heritage + lighting" innovation drove a 180% year-on-year increase in nighttime cultural tourism revenue. In another case, Pop Mart collaborated with papercutting artists, and lighting companies used customized projection tech to turn flat designs into dynamic shadow installations—creating immersive "designer toy + lighting" consumption scenes.

From Hardware Supply to Scenario-Based Lighting Solutions

The explosive growth of the night economy is accelerating the transformation of the lighting industry—from selling traditional lighting fixtures to delivering holistic light-environment solutions. This shift is driven by three key technological breakthroughs:

Multi-Spectrum Lighting Technology is becoming essential for enhancing nighttime consumer experiences

For example, Opple Lighting's "Emotional Light Recipe" system adjusts color temperature and spectral distribution to create warm yellow tones in malls to stimulate purchasing desire, and blue-violet lighting in bars to encourage social interaction. Test data shows that precise spectral control can extend consumer dwell time by 15% and increase purchase conversion rates by 9%.

Low-Carbon Lighting Systems Cut Costs While Supporting China's "Dual Carbon" Goals

In the Qingdao 5G Smart Pole Project, Huawei and Hengrun Optoelectronics implemented an integrated solar-powered lighting system, reducing streetlight energy consumption by 60%, with an additional 30% savings from smart dimming controls. This "energy-saving + intelligent" model is becoming standard for municipal night-economy projects. Estimates show that retrofitting a single LED streetlight to meet the new national standards can save ¥3,000–¥5,000 in electricity costs over a 5-year lifecycle—significantly reducing the financial burden on local governments.

Mixed-Reality Lighting Technology Fuels Night Economy in the Metaverse Era

Liad Group's AR lighting guide system, already deployed at Kuan Zhai Alley in Chengdu, allows visitors to scan streetlights with their phones and interact with virtual historical figures. This "real-world lighting + virtual content" approach extends nighttime visitation by an average of 1 hour. Further innovation from Appotronics includes laser projection technology that can transform entire streets into AR game environments, creating new immersive business models for the night economy.

From Standalone Technology to Ecosystem Building: A Strategic Leap in Lighting Industry Capabilities

As the night economy evolves, it is reshaping the competitive landscape of the lighting industry. Lv Mei, Head of Strategic Advisory, East China, at JLL, observes: "The future of night economy competition lies in a city’s ability to transform its cultural DNA into consumer appeal." his shift is driving three key emerging trends:

Cross-Industry Ecosystem Alliances Become the New Standard for Large-Scale Night Economy Projects

In the lighting installation for the Shanghai 2025 Nightlife Festival, Philips Lighting joined forces with Tencent Cloud and Wenheyou to build a closed-loop “Lighting + Social Media + F&B” ecosystem. Consumers scan QR codes embedded in lighting displays to engage in online interactions, which then guide them to offline restaurants—boosting conversion rates by 30%. This “Lighting + Internet + Cultural IP” model is rapidly emerging as the dominant framework for city-level night economy collaborations.

Lighting Operation Unlocks a Second Growth Curve

Traditional lighting companies are shifting from one-off hardware sales to long-term operational models. For example, Unilumin Group’s “Light & Shadow Operations” in Xi’an’s Grand Tang Mall uses real-time monitoring of lighting effects and foot traffic to dynamically fine-tune the lighting scheme, enhancing the overall consumer experience. This service-based approach enables companies to generate sustained post-installation revenue, increasing per-customer value by over 50%.

Deep Vertical Customization Creates Differentiation

In cultural tourism, NVC Lighting has developed a “Cultural Narrative Lighting System” that tailors lighting stories to the historical context of each district.In retail, Ledsen launched an “Intelligent Shop Window Lighting Solution” that uses dynamic lighting to capture the attention of passersby. Tests show it increases window engagement by 60%.This deep customization for vertical scenarios is proving to be a powerful differentiator, helping companies stand out amid intensifying competition.

From functional illumination to narrative-driven scenarios, and from hardware manufacturing to ecosystem services, the lighting industry’s role in the rise of the night economy represents more than just a technological upgrade—it marks a paradigm shift in industrial value. As lighting evolves from simply “illuminating roads” to “defining lifestyles,” lighting enterprises are leveraging deep integration of lighting technologies, digital innovation, and cultural IPs to reimagine the spatial and temporal logic of urban nighttime economies.

This transformation is driven both by the inevitable shift toward energy-efficient solutions under the dual-carbon goals and by growing consumer demand for immersive experiences in the era of consumption upgrade. In the future, those companies capable of seamlessly uniting lighting performance, intelligent control, and cultural expression will uncover their value coordinates within the ¥50 trillion night economy blue ocean. And this urban transformation—led by light—has only just begun.