Shop lighting

When you are planning your lighting design, there are a few steps you can take to ensure you are pleased with your results.

Consider the Purpose

Take a moment to consider all that you want to accomplish with your industrial shop lights. Think about how you’ll light key products and zones, communicate your brand identity, and support the customer experience.

Layer the Lights

Be sure your lighting scheme includes ambient, accent and task lighting. For ambient light, choose ceiling lights for retail stores. This can mean recessed or flush mount LED shop lights, or pendant lighting. Accent lighting can be worked in by way of track lights, while task lights work as pendants over tills and service desks.

Choose the Right Colour Temperature

Think about what you want to say with your lighting and choose the colour temperature accordingly. Cool lighting is brighter and more energetic, while warmer lighting is more luxurious and intimate.

Use High CRI

High colour rendering will ensure the colours of the items are accurately depicted. This will increase customer satisfaction and reduce the number of returns.

CCT, or colour correlated temperature, is a way to discuss the warmth or coolness of a light. They are measured in Kelvin and exist on a spectrum between 1,000 and 10,000. Warmer lights are on the lower end of the spectrum, while cooler lights are at the top.

The colour temperature of your LED lights for retail store environments will depend on the environment itself. Many people equate low, warm lighting with a sense of luxury and exclusivity. Brighter, cooler lighting, on the other hand, is often associated with trendy boutiques and can give a sense of energy and vitality.

The personality of your brand will influence the kind of light colour temperature that you will choose. Decide on the sort of mood and atmosphere you wish to evoke and go from there. Just be sure that you are not mixing warm and cool colour temperatures too closely together. This can create an unsightly and abrasive clash.

When determining which commercial retail lighting fixtures to install and how, keep in mind some of the common dos and don’ts of retail lighting design.

DO:

DO use lights to create drama. Lights can make a store memorable and stick in your customers’ minds. Think softly lit alcoves, spotlights on walls or warm pools of lighting over tables.

DO use lighting for wayfinding. Installing recessed retail lighting along aisles, overhead shop lights over certain displays and accent wall lights on various products can encourage customers to take a certain path.

DO highlight texture with lighting. Graze wall lights over fabric, wood or brick walls to enhance their textures and bring personality to the space. Similarly, backlighting translucent materials can add depth and visual interest.

DON’T:

DON’T forget to light the ceilings. Retail ceilings often get overlooked in favor of adding spotlights everywhere, but this is a mistake. Instead, use pendant lights to create vertical interest, or add dimmable LED shop lights to enhance the mood.

DON’T get stuck on symmetry. Stagger your lighting to create a more dynamic look with ample visual interest.

DON’T neglect finishes. The finishes on the LED shop light fixtures are as important as the lights themselves. Whether you choose metallic finishes to reflect light around the room or colourful ones to suit the brand’s personality, be sure you are giving them the attention they need.

As mentioned, lighting plays a big part in expressing the brand identity of your store. Consider the colour temperature of the LED lighting solutions. Retail stores can have a number of personalities and vibes from trendy and modern boutiques to elegant and luxurious stores. Choose cool or warm lighting respectively.

Outdoor retail lighting is important in this regard as well. With retail outdoor lighting, you are communicating your brand before the customer even steps into the shop. Use it to enhance signage outdoors, or to create memorable window displays to catch attention from the street.

You can also use it to reinforce the ideals of your brand. For example, choosing to buy from retail lighting suppliers that sell energy efficient LED bulbs can give your company a good reputation.

If you want customers to take photos and share online to get word-of-mouth interest, then having good lighting is key. Create eye-catching displays that people would be excited to share around.

Just because the changing rooms are tucked away does not mean they should be forgotten about. They play an important role in whether or not your customers will finalize the purchase. Changing rooms need to have clear visibility and flattering lighting if you want to promote sales from the experience of trying on clothing.

Hop on some of the trendiest lighting styles by getting familiar with the trends of today.

BIOPHILIC LIGHTING. Lighting that brings the outdoors inside is popular in retail environments today. Having warm colour temperatures and fixtures made from natural materials will promote this.

MODERN AND CHIC. In boutiques especially, clean lines and simple materials are popular. Think simple shades, basic finishes like white, black or metallic, and slimline profiles that do not get in the way.

GEOMETRIC AND COLORFUL. To make an impression with your shop, have a little fun with it if the brand personality fits. Making memorable shop environments that are colourful fun to explore and shop in is key.