Since retail store lighting can influence a customer's mood and buying decision, it becomes crucial that you choose the right lighting for your store. New research by a Dutch retail company Plus has shown that lighting can potentially help guide customers through the store and raise the average customer spending by 1.93%.
Another study by researchers at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden has shown that the brightness of a retail store is important to customers, but color temperature and rendering are also vital factors in determining a customer’s choices. Researchers concluded that consumers could be guided into other areas of the stores or even products by selectively using light-color temperatures.
Given that various bulbs and fixtures can have different impacts on a retail store area, it is important to pay attention to what each section of your retail store needs. There is no better technology than highly-controllable and energy-efficient LED lights for retail stores.
With LED lights, you can create an atmosphere that makes customers feel good and complements their needs and expectations. YOu can utilize them to gain customers’ attention and drive their focus to a particular product or item.
In addition to boosting sales by improving the appearance of products, LED lights dramatically reduce your energy cost while imparting an eco-friendly brand message.
LED lighting comes in a wide range of color temperatures, designs and shapes such as recessed, low bay, floodlights, pendant lighting, and offers a high color rendering index (CRI) needed for retail establishments.
You can save up to 80% on your energy costs compared to conventional halogen and fluorescent lighting. Because LED lights dissipate far less heat, they also reduce the load on air conditioning systems in a large retail store space, cutting energy costs even further. Moreover, with a lifespan of more than 50,000 hours of operation, retail LED lighting significantly reduces maintenance or replacement cost.
Lights in retail stores are used 24*7, so by switching to energy-efficient LEDs, you can reap the benefits of lower electricity costs from the day of installation.
Comparison of Lights For Your Retail Store
HalogenDownlights
A level up from incandescent bulbs, halogen lamps use about 30% less energy than incandescent lights. They emit a warm light of about 3000 Kelvin, which is slightly cooler than the incandescent ones. Like incandescent lamps, halogens also have a flawless CRI. Unfortunately, the low lifespan and relatively higher power consumption than fluoros and LEDs don’t make them the right choice for retail store lighting.
FluorescentTubes
A common alternative of halogen downlights for general lighting, fluorescent tubes use less energy and last longer than the first lighting choice. Though the fluorescents come in a variety of color temperatures, fluorescent fixtures need a ballast/transformer to work, which might ultimately need repair, maintenance or replacement.
LED Lights
LED lights can be used in any or all areas of the retail store as LEDs are the most flexible and energy-efficient lighting alternative. While color rendering capabilities of LED lights may not be so perfect as halogens, LED lights are compatible with all sections of a retail store. Notwithstanding slightly higher upfront cost, LED lighting pays for itself through high energy savings and no maintenance cost.
LED Lights vs Fluorescent Tubes
Although any lighting type comes handy in a large retail space, store owners can see tangible advantages using LED lights. LED lights are brighter, more energy efficient, smaller and illuminate targeted areas— all of the features you need for retail lighting. Fluorescence tubes are great for general lighting but LED lights are better suited for accent lighting. Many retail stores mix LED downlights and tubes/panels to get the best lighting.
How To Make the Most Of LED Lights in Your Retail Store?
General lighting and ambient lighting such as downlights and spotlights make navigation around the store convenient for customers. LED lights can deliver different color temperatures and you can create a cool, warm and intimate atmosphere in your retail spaces.
Here are some tips to make the most of retail store lighting:
Be cautious about the color temperature and the CRI of the store lights.Dressing rooms should have warm lights installed so that shoppers have the option of switching between the color temperature lower or higher. This allows the customer to see what an outfit looks like indoors in artificial light and outdoors in natural sunlight. For shops that require true color rendering, including clothing stores and art gallery stores, high color rendering lights are essential.
Watch out for Halogens & Incandescent lights. If you are using halogen/Incandescent lights, be careful and make sure that the dissipating heat is not getting trapped in the lighting fixtures. Halogen and incandescent lamps generate enormous heat. If you're using these types of lights, be sure they're not so close to make your customers uncomfortable or fade your products.
Use dimmer switches.Dimmers allow you to monitor the brightness of your store at any given time to help enhance the space environment or to signal that it is closing time. Ensure that you use a combination of compatible LED bulb / dimmer switches.
Do use lighting to set the mood:The color temperature you choose should be based on the mood and shopping experience you want to give your customers. It’s a scientifically proven fact that the more time you spend in a shop, the more likely it is that you will buy something. Dim light flatters and forgives you more when customers try out the clothing, but it won't help you to read if the cups are safe or scratch-proof. The lighting you choose should gel with the products you’re trying to sell.
Use lighting to draw people in and draw attention to specific areas or products:One of the key priorities of any seller when it comes to lighting is to increase sales. Retailers should use light to their advantage when trying to focus on a certain product or create visual appeal. Use light to create a path that will guide customers through your entire store.
What to Consider Before Choosing LED Lights for Your Retail Store?
Understanding the technical specifications of potential bulbs and fixtures are crucial for setting up an effective lighting system that makes shoppers feel comfortable and helps them navigate through the large retail space. Details like lumens, color rendering index (CRI), energy efficiency and correlated color temperature (CCT) should be deciding factors when choosing lights for your retail store.
Energy Efficiency
Cost-effectiveness is always a major concern for all retail store owners. Energy efficacy is the amount of visible light emitted (lumens) divided by the amount of power (Watts). If a light bulb is emitting 400 lumens and using four watts of power (400/4) has an efficiency of 40 lumens per watt.
Lumens
Earlier, wattage was used to determine the brightness of lamps. Today lumens are a globally accepted way of calculating brightness. The higher the lumens, the brighter the light is. Equivalent wattage is always mentioned on all LED product pages. Lumens are used to approximate what equivalent incandescent wattage will be.
If there is no comparable wattage/lumens on the product page, simply delete the last digit from a LED light's lumen value. The result would be a wattage equal to incandescent. An LED light emitting 400 lumens, for example, is approximately as bright as a 40 Watt incandescent bulb.
CRI
When it comes to clothing or food retail stores, it is imperative to show products as they look in natural light. Lights with faithful color rendering ability (high CRI number) are crucial for retail stores. CRI indicates how accurately a light is able to display the real colors of objects under it. The closer a light’s CRI is to 100, the better it is able to render true colors.
CCT
LED lights come in a wide range of colors. You should choose a light of a certain color temperature (CCT) based on the functionality of the space. Warm white light is considered good for relaxing, whereas cool white is considered good for reading.
Color temperature indicates whether your light source will emit rather “warm” or “cold” light. The lower the number, the “warmer” the color. 2700K can be described as warm white and 5000K may be considered cool white.
Colour Temperature is measured in Kelvin (K). LEDs can produce white light in a number of “shades” or “color temperatures”– from warm-white (2700 to 3,300 Kelvin) or cool-white (3,00-5,300 Kelvin) to cool daylight (5,300 to 6,500 Kelvin). The lower the number, the warmer the light appears.
Government Incentives
The energy-efficiency schemes like Victorian Energy Upgrades make it easier for businesses to cut their energy costs by replacing old, inefficient lights with energy-efficient LED downlights, panels, high bays, and spotlights.
Retail store lighting upgrade under the VEU program
We replace halogen and fluoros in retail stores with energy-efficient LED lights under the Victorian Energy Upgrades program (formerly known as VEET Scheme). VEU is an acronym for the Victorian Energy Upgrades program.
Regulated by the ESC (Essential Services Commission), the VEU program helps Victorians businesses, small and big, reduce their power bills and greenhouse gas emissions by providing access to subsidized/discounted energy-efficient LED products and services.
FAQs
1. What color light is most flattering?
People tend to look the best when illuminated by light bulbs that measure around 2700 kelvins. Most bulbs, whether incandescent, LED, compact fluorescent or halogen, are labeled “soft white/warm white” (2,700-3,000 kelvins), “bright white/cool white” (3,500-4,100 kelvins) or “daylight” (5,000-6,500 kelvins).2. Which is brighter warm or cool light?
Cool white light contains more blue light and looks brighter to the eye (this is why cool white bulbs have a higher lumen output when compared to the equivalent warm white bulb). It also seems people from sunnier countries tend to prefer white light compared to people from cooler countries who prefer more warm light.3. How do I calculate lumens for a retail store?
Determine Room Square Footage. Multiply the length times the width of the room to get the room square footage. For example, if the room is 10 feet wide and 10 feet long, the room square footage will be 100 square feet.Find the Foot Candles by Room Type or Room Purpose. A foot-candle is how bright a light is one-foot away from its source. Lighting requirements/needs vary depending on the type of space being lit.
4. What are the types of lighting fixtures?
Mainly there are three types of lighting fixtures- Ambient lighting
- Task lighting
- Accent lighting
5. What is the best color temperature for my retail store?
Natural or warm white light is best, and a high-CRI LED light will show colors most accurately. Illuminate aisles to guide customers through the store. Shoppers shouldn't feel like they're lost in a maze.6. How many lumens do I need to light a retail shop?
Suppose your shop has a total square footage of 1,800 square feet and you want a lighting level of 30 lumens per square foot. The total lumens lighting required are equal to 1,800 square feet times 30 foot candles per square foot, or 54,000 lumens. Calculate how many lights you need.
7. What is the best LED color temperature for a retail store?
Best preference is 3000-4000K, but cooler color temperatures in 4000-5000K+ range tend to be most common. Choosing the right color temperature for retail typically varies based on the brand, atmosphere, and even location. With that said, most retailers in the US choose lighting within the 2700K to 4000K range.8. Can I put LED bulbs in fluorescent fixtures?
"Retrofit" tubes work with all fluorescent fixtures as well as ballast-free LED fixtures. To use them with your existing fluorescent fixtures, you'll need to take just a few minutes to rewire the fixture to bypass the balast. This is a pretty simple task.
9.How low should pendant lights hang?
As a general rule, pendants should hang 12-20 inches below an 8-foot ceiling. For each additional foot of ceiling height, add 3 inches. For example, in kitchens with a 9-foot ceiling, the pendant should hang 15-23 inches below. The pendant height can also be measured up from the surface below the light.10. What is a troffer light?
A troffer is a rectangular or square light fixture that typically fits into a modular dropped ceiling grid, often described as “recessed." Historically, troffer fixtures have been designed to accommodate standard fluorescent lamps like T12 or T8 bulbs. The troffer is the most common type of light fixture for use in retail stores, commercial office spaces, schools, and lab facilities.11. What color should a dressing room be?
Paint dressing rooms a warm color like light yellow. It makes customers feel more comfortable and more like home than a sterile white or gray. Dressing rooms are also your chance to add personal touches.