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Retail Lighting to Increase Sales

This is the season when retail shops are busy with excited shoppers and holiday magic is in the air. No matter what store you have, retail lighting can make a difference to the store experience of your customers and employees and therefore affect sales.

Creating an atmosphere that is pleasant to spend time in is important. The more inviting and comforting we can make a retail space; can greatly drive foot traffic and increase purchases.

Ambiance is created with specific lighting fixtures that allow for scene creation. With the correct choice of lighting costume and plan, we affect the overall mood of the space.

Depending on the type of store, the CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) may differ. For example, in a sports retail, it is preferable to go with a cool light (4000 CCT) to create a fresh and energetic area. In a fashion store, however, we tend to go with warmer colors, 3000 CCT, to create a more atmospheric scene.

During the holiday season, we can create unique and decorative lighting plans and apply them to selected areas of the store. By selecting RGBW light fixtures and DMX controlling protocol we can adjust and adapt the atmospheric vibe.

Store Fronts & Sales Areas

Holiday shoppers are drawn to storefronts and window displays that feel festive. To attract people, we must illuminate in a way that not only presents the items in an effective way but brings shoppers’ focus to the store and encourages them to enter.

Generally going with an 800 – 1200 Lux (Light intensity) with a CRI of +90 (Color rendering index) and including accent lights can meet the criteria.

Along with general lighting, we use a combination of millworks lights (strip lights), track lighting, and adjustable downlights to bring focus onto the items. This can be replicated inside the sales area of the store also bringing consistency into the plan.

High CRI presents the most accurate color and texture of the merchandise.

Making sure the shelves, racks, and mannequins (if applicable) are efficiently lit will assist in making a sale, so it is important to get it right.

Track Lighting is an aesthetic, high-end light source for retail stores.

The following model is a high-performance LED vertical cylinder fixture with a classic and timeless look. With a rated life of 50,000 hours and optimized thermal operation, it is ENERGY STAR® qualified.

For durability in high ceilings and big stores, we recommend using a strip light.

This versatile lighting solution is ultra-efficient and comes in multiple lengths, and has different lenses and mounting options. Another benefit to this fixture is that it is extremely low maintenance.

Checkout Lines

Although only a small area of the store, quality lighting for this space is imperative for sale completions and customer service. We want to make for a comfortable wait (especially during the holiday season when lines can be long), so having a medium light level is favored.

An additional tip here is to use a different fixture for this area than the rest of the store sales area so that it is easily discoverable for your customers. Using decorative and pendant light fixtures creates a focal point that, in addition to being authentic, makes it easy to find.

Fitting Rooms

The fitting rooms are a very important area. It is where the customer is most vulnerable and where, most of the time, the final purchasing decision happens.

The customer needs to be able to evaluate the merchandise, so like in the sales area, a high CRI is recommended.

Modeling the face and object is important. We try to avoid shadows on the face and give enough light to boost confidence.

Other Areas to Consider

Other areas of a retail store to consider when creating a lighting plan, are the back of house/storage rooms, electrical, mechanical, and IT room, offices, bathrooms, and kitchen. Each of these areas will require a different lighting criterion based on the activities.

How We Can Help You

Hiring an expert in lighting design can help you choose the right fixtures for your retail store to improve customer experience. We also have a Retail Lighting starter guide which is a resource built to help you on your journey.

If you are looking for inspiration, we are proud to have worked on multiple retail projects including Psycho Bunny, Decathlon, Moose Knuckles, and more. You can find inspiration here in our project portfolio.

No matter the type of retail store you have, Richporter Lighting can assist you in making the right lighting decisions to best suit your needs.