lighting – Tanya Decor

When setting up your retail store, there are a lot of questions in your mind : how to best display your products, how the general layout of your store should look, and much more.

Retail Lighting for Product Display & create a ambiance

What about lighting design? While lighting may be an afterthought for many retailers who are just starting out, retail lighting can provide much more than simple ambiance. This basic utility can also impact your sales and customer experience.

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” —Aaron Rose, photographer

Retail lighting varies depending on the type of store, product/ brand goals, and merchandise being displayed.

Lighting can contribute to a unique shopping experience that keeps customers coming back. Some retailers are installing consistent lighting as an extension of their brand, Some use lighting to create multiple dynamic spaces to make their stores more of a destination.

For example, jewelry stores often require very small point sources with relatively high color temperatures to make gemstones sparkle while favoring lower color temperature sources for areas displaying gold. It’s all about using the best lighting solution to create a unique store experience that attracts shoppers and keeps them in store. – for example, fashion, car showrooms, electronics stores and supermarkets.

Big-box stores typically prioritize energy efficiency, maintenance, uniformity of light levels, and low installed cost.

Boutique applications typically prioritize color quality, visual comfort and setting a desired look. Both are typically concerned with using focal lighting to accent and promote key merchandise.

Warm, soft lighting can make people feel relaxed and comfortable, while brighter lighting helps customers see products more clearly.

Shopping is primarily a heads-up visual activity, achieving good vertical light levels (typically 6 ft. above the finished floor) is often more important than horizontal light levels (typically 3 ft. above the finished floor).

Lighting depending on store design and merchandise displays, once a general light level is established, the accent/feature display and vertical/perimeter lighting systems can be determined.

Accent lighting to achieve the most dramatic and visually interesting displays, a contrast of five to 10 times the ambient light level is most effective. While all this is more easily taken care of in new construction projects, we find a lot of accent lighting in existing stores has become marginalized over the years.

LED lighting is becoming increasingly popular in retail spaces in both new construction and upgrades. “LED lighting has become the proven path to better light for retail applications

LED sources allow retailers to dramatically lower the cost of ownership through high system efficacy, long life and high color rendering.

Integrate/Decorate – LED lighting more easily integrates into store fixtures and architecture, making the lighting disappear. Alternately, the lighting can stand out as a decorative element

Volumetric Lighting – Selecting luminaries that throw light on walls and ceilings can make the retail space appear larger and more inviting. “This is a particularly important trend in big-box retail where a lack of light on the high ceilings often creates a cavelike, gloomy effect, while glare can make it difficult to see products on the top shelf”.

Finding Your Fixtures – One way to create an atmosphere with your lighting strategy is through the light fixtures. Break up your space with a mixture of light fixtures in different parts of your store, like the entrance versus the changing rooms.

Choose a Temperature – you can create an inviting atmosphere in your store is by using a warm or cool temperature of lighting — there are benefits to both color schemes. Lux states that “Cool color temperatures such as cool white make areas appear more spacious whereas warm color temperatures create an impression of smallness and familiarity.”