The finalists of the Showroom of the Year awards are spilling the tea on how…
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How Are Showrooms Using AI Today?
The finalists of the Showroom of the Year awards are spilling the tea on how they are implementing AI tools to make their businesses run more efficiently.
One of the best practices that many of the Showroom of the Year (SOTY) finalists have in common is a curiosity about AI and technology and an eagerness to explore how it can help their showrooms’ business strategy.
For most, it’s about using tech to uncover useful data that leads to a more tailored product selection for their target customers, helps them keep a handle on available stock, and provides visual tools beyond the traditional paper catalog to help customers reach a decision faster about which finish, style, or size would work best in their homes.
According to Tammy Dalton, marketing director for Accent Lighting in Wichita, Kansas, “We use sales data and category performance metrics to guide merchandising decisions, identify trending styles and finishes, and optimize inventory levels. This allows us to showcase the right products at the right time while minimizing backorders and delays.”
Accent Lighting’s staff also utilizes the customer relationship management system as an organizational tool to keep track of project timelines, builder partnerships, and repeat client preferences.
“This data helps us provide personalized service and follow up proactively — especially for trade professionals managing multiple projects,” Dalton said.
Noted Daniella Fleischer, senior vice president of marketing at Hermitage in Nashville, “We use data-driven decision-making to guide merchandising, inventory management, and showroom layout. Through third-party analytics and trend-forecasting tools, we monitor product performance, category growth, and regional demand patterns to ensure our curation stays relevant and profitable.”
Hermitage’s technology tools also support operational efficiency, pricing integrity, and margin optimization. “While we evaluate emerging technologies such as AI and immersive tools, we implement innovation intentionally — only when it enhances the client experience and strengthens our team’s expertise. Technology supports our strategy; it does not replace it.”
AI boosts marketing efforts
Many of the finalist showrooms are comfortable with AI tools that help with content creation.
Accent Lighting uses AI for audience targeting across email and social media platforms. “This enables us to communicate more effectively, test messaging, and refine marketing based on performance analytics,” Dalton said.
At Bright Ideas in Albuquerque, New Mexico, “Data plays a major role in how we curate our displays and product mix. We carefully analyze what customers respond to – both in style and price point – to ensure we showcase lighting that feels like a meaningful upgrade from the big-box retailers while still remaining within approachable budgets,” explained Arielle Cofer, showroom manager.
Cofer noted that employees at Bright Ideas find tools such as Bluebeam Revu (for reviewing and marking up digital blueprints) and SketchUp (for creating renderings) helpful in enabling clients to visualize lighting within their space.
At Kennewick, Wash.-based KIE Supply, Amelia Kittson, president, explained, “We use technology as a practical, results-driven tool to elevate both the customer experience and internal efficiency. Rather than adopting technology for its own sake, we focus on solutions that improve decision-making, streamline processes, and strengthen overall project outcomes.”
For back office operations, KIE Supply leverages data from its POS and vendor systems to monitor product performance, margin trends, inventory levels, and display productivity.
“This allows us to make data-driven merchandising decisions, refine our vendor mix, and optimize showroom floor space based on measurable results rather than assumptions,” Kittson said. “We have implemented customized, image-based reporting tools that allow our sales team to quickly identify in-stock products for ‘need-it-now’ customers. This improves responsiveness, shortens sales cycles, and increases close rates by immediately connecting customers with available solutions.”
Lighting Design in Draper, Utah, is a firm believer in using AI and tech to crunch the numbers. According to Maegan Eyre, marketing coordinator, “We use sales data and customer behavior insights to guide what we bring into the showroom and what we choose to feature online. Instead of guessing trends, we analyze which finishes, sizes, and styles are resonating in real projects. This allows us to curate collections that reflect real demand – not just passing fads – and keeps our showroom fresh and relevant. By staying up to date with this information, we anticipate what is gaining traction and buy ahead of demand. This keeps our showroom ahead of competitors and positions us as a trend leader rather than a follower.”
Being tech-savvy, these showrooms say, is necessary in order to take their stores to the next level in the most direct and efficient way possible. In essence, it allows showrooms to accomplish more in less time.
“These tools support our workflow by helping us to generate realistic renderings, explore design ideas and streamline communication,” Cofer stated, adding, “AI assists with quick responses and even helps generate small pieces of code that improve automation and efficiency within our Monday.com workspace, which our team uses to manage projects and collaboration.”
At Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based EL Design, Kelly Gallagher, president, agrees, adding that technology has improved customers’ shopping journey. “We leverage technology and data to elevate both the customer experience and our business decisions. Using AI and analytics, we track trends, understand customer preferences, and optimize our product selection, ensuring that every visit they make showcases the most relevant and inspiring options,” she said.
For Lauri Patterson, who runs One Source Lighting in Billings, Montana, new technology has freed up valuable time for her staff.
“AI helps us streamline everyday tasks such as developing marketing content, generating social media ideas, and creating written materials that communicate lighting concepts and product features more effectively,” Patterson explained. “By using AI-assisted tools, we can spend less time on administrative work and more time focusing on what matters most: helping our customers design beautiful and functional spaces. We also use AI-powered tools to support visual inspiration. It allows us to quickly create design concepts, explore lighting trends, and communicate ideas with builders, designers, and homeowners. These tools help customers better visualize possibilities and spark conversations about how lighting can transform their spaces.”
Orem, Utah-based Nova Lighting (formerly known as Hansen Lighting) has a unique situation. With multiple locations, technology is used to provide precision, communication and consistency across all six showrooms.
“We operate two centralized warehouses serving northern and southern Utah. [Technology] allows us to manage inventory strategically and support projects efficiently across regions,” noted Brooke Hatch, marketing manager. The company’s structured system – which is overseen by a dedicated order team – reduces delays, improves communication with builders and homeowners, and ensures projects stay aligned with construction timelines.
“On the customer-facing side, we leverage digital systems to actively manage our online reputation and search visibility,” Hatch explained. “Automated review requests and ongoing Google Business management have resulted in more than 400 five-star reviews across our locations. This reinforces trust and helps customers find us with confidence.”
As with the other finalist showrooms, technology plays a big part in supporting Nova Lighting’s merchandising strategy.
“Scaled showroom renderings are used when planning new displays and layout updates, allowing us to order accurately, allocate space intentionally, and maintain visual balance across each location,” Hatch said. “Together, these systems create a showroom experience that feels seamless to the customer while operating on a highly structured, data-informed foundation behind the scenes.”
The benefit of kiosks and screens
The majority of SOTY finalists have some form of digital display on the showroom floor — whether it is an interactive kiosk for perusing digital catalogs or large monitor screens used during design consultations.
These showrooms report that the digital method is faster and more efficient than pulling out a variety of catalogs, making sure the right year or supplement is selected, and going through a potential selection manually, one page at a time, one voluminous catalog after another.
“We have multiple large-screen digital displays to access online catalogs in real time,” noted Kittson. “This allows us to pull up specifications, installation guides, finish options, and full product families beyond what is physically displayed. It maximizes our footprint while giving customers access to expanded selections.”
The KIE Supply team also uses mobile iPads to provide side-by-side comparisons, perform real-time product searches, and create interactive discussions throughout the showroom. “Additionally, our product tags include QR codes that link directly to our website, giving customers instant access to detailed specifications, dimensions, and additional product imagery,” Kittson said.
The KIE Supply staff has received intentional training and utilizes AI-assisted tools to “enhance communication clarity, proposal refinement, and internal documentation,” Kittson added. “These tools support our sales consultants in drafting polished client correspondence, organizing complex product information, and improving specification accuracy.”
Most importantly, Kittson stated, “By leveraging AI as a productivity tool – and never as a replacement for expertise – we increase efficiency, reduce errors, and allow our team to focus more fully on consultative selling and client relationships while maintaining a high level of personalized service and product knowledge.”
Many of the SOTY finalists are relying on paper catalogs less and less. “Most people now find their lights online and our sales staff sells mainly from our website,” Lighting Design’s Eyre said. “The customers’ never-ending struggle to visualize a light in their space has encouraged us to find new ways to showcase products.”
Some showrooms are taking visualization to the next level. “Standard product shots on a white background weren’t telling the full story for our customers,” Eyre explained. “We decided to solve the problem by generating our own AI-created lifestyle images. This allows us to place our products into beautifully designed, realistic settings that reflect how they would actually fit the space.”
Lighting Design also offers customers an immersive virtual tour of the showroom using Matterport (a technology some manufacturer showrooms in the Dallas Market Center use to offer tours of their showroom during non-market times).
Eyre said, “This technology allows clients to walk through our showroom space from anywhere — exploring displays, comparing fixtures, and seeing how different lighting styles work together in real life. Whether someone is out of state, short on time, or simply prefers to browse from home, the virtual tour gives them a true-to-life showroom experience and brings our curated collections and design expertise directly to their screen.”
Lighting Design also offers virtual design consultations by using screen sharing, digital tear sheets, and curated product links so clients can collaborate with showroom personnel from anywhere. “This expands our geographic reach beyond our local market and across the United States,” Eyre remarked.
When it comes to bringing technology into a lighting showroom’s operations, finding experts to guide your employees through the process is time (and money) well spent. Having professional guidance will make certain all of your showroom’s particular needs are met and a variety of employee skill levels are accommodated. These successful showrooms are proof that embracing technology – and even AI – can pay off in ways that can make a positive difference to your business.
The winners of the Showroom of the Year (SOTY) Awards in each revenue category will be announced live at Lightovation on Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m. on the Main Stage of Trade Mart 3 Loft.
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