- Lighting has to match the decoration and brand image
- Light by levels
- Adjust the color temperature
- Go for high CRI
- Shelf lighting
- The same shade of light does not work for all products.
- Light from the right direction
- Highlight what you want your customers to see.
- Bring those shop windows to life
- Get good advice
If you have a store, lighting should be one of the most important aspects to take care of. As we mentioned when talking about the psychology of color, the first impression of an item is based in more than 60% on the way it looks. While this is usually not enough to close the sale, a negative initial assessment can prevent it from happening.
The lighting tips and tricks that we are going to present here will be of great help to make that first product-customer contact arouse the consumer’s interest.
Lighting has to match the decoration and brand image
Although it may seem a cliché, and in fact it is, in the world of design, lighting is everything. The arrangement of light, its color temperature or intensity define the atmosphere of the space and the sensations it conveys. That’s why it has to match the image that the brand wants to transmit and the decoration of the space.
Light by levels
Retail lighting should be designed with several lighting levels in mind: general, accent and task lighting. Each type of light has a function in the space and its proper combination is essential.
Ambient or general lighting
This is usually the main type of lighting in the space and is characterized by the wide beam of light from the luminaires. This allows a uniform illumination.
Accent lighting
It is the one that will highlight decorative elements and specific products. Here, smaller aperture spotlights are used to concentrate the light.
Work light
Purely functional, it does not fall within the aesthetic guidelines of the space. It is used where the existing light is not sufficient to perform certain tasks comfortably.
LED lighting offers us a wide variety of options when it comes to illuminating and decorating our business.
Adjust the color temperature
Often overlooked or based on personal preference, the color temperature should be chosen according to the type of customers we have or want to have. Warmer lights create a more inviting atmosphere that tends to appeal to people of a certain age. Cooler lighting is more appealing to younger people and gives a feeling of spaciousness.
Go for high CRI
The best way to ensure that a product looks as it deserves is to illuminate it with quality light. A CRI of at least 80 ensures that colors are reproduced without distortion.
Shelf lighting
Integrating lights on the shelves where products are displayed dramatically increases sales. This is very easy to achieve with LED lights, as they do not emit heat, have a very low consumption and there are very compact lighting solutions, such as G9 LED bulbs that will adapt to any space.
The same shade of light does not work for all products.
Using the same color temperature for all products in the store can be detrimental. This is especially the case in fresh produce stores and, oddly enough, jewelry stores. With fresh products such as meat or fish, we will use solutions specially designed for these spaces, such as special LED tubes for butchers. In jewelry stores, it is advisable to use more or less warm lights (3000K) for gold and more neutral tones (4000K) for diamonds or silver.
Light from the right direction
In previous articles we have already told you how overhead light is not the most advisable to look good in a mirror. So why do most fitting rooms only have a single point of light on the ceiling? Light that on the other hand, in most cases, offers a rather poor illumination. It would be best to have a few good quality lights vertically around the mirror.
Highlight what you want your customers to see.
Something that is often overlooked. The lights, especially the accent lights, should draw the user’s attention to the products and, especially, to the promotions or the star products of our business. This is often difficult given the continuous changes in the distribution of stores in certain sectors. Traditionally, track lighting has been used for its versatility when it comes to moving the luminaires, but nowadays multi-angle spotlights are already available. This type of LED luminaires allows us to adjust the opening angle of the light and customize the lighting of the space to the maximum.
Bring those shop windows to life
Don’t let that huge window that connects your store to the outside go unnoticed. Use lighting with high-contrast colors, bright and if possible with some dynamism (movement, color changes or intensity). Shop window lighting is one of the most important aspects to capture the attention of future customers.
Get good advice
The lighting of a commercial premises, such as a store, suffers a much greater workload than in a domestic installation. Therefore, we must acquire the lighting elements that are able to support the continuous hours of lighting that a working day requires. In our section of LED lighting for stores you have a wide range of products specially designed for retail lighting.
A store with proper lighting is more attractive from the outside and invites the customer to enter. Once inside, it must provide the right atmosphere to facilitate the sales process and this is achieved by displaying the products in such a way that the desire to purchase them is generated.