The lighting of an establishment can significantly impact a customer’s experience. Poor lighting causes eye strain and can distort how a product appears. Using LED lighting in your store can draw people in, keep them focused, and guide them throughout the store, all while saving money. Read this blog on the do’s and don’ts to achieve retail store lighting that helps you reach your goals.
What To Do for Retail Lighting
Do Remember the Basics
When creating an efficient lighting system to promote products, make customers comfortable, and increase sales, a few factors must be considered. These include the color-rendering index (CRI), correlated color temperature (CCT), intensity, and efficacy.
Efficacy
Efficacy is the amount of lumens per watt. LEDs have a higher efficacy than traditional lighting because they emit the same amount of lumens at a lower wattage. Calculate efficacy of a product by dividing its lumens by the watts it consumes. For example, an 8W bulb with 480 lumens has an efficacy of 60 lm/W.
Most of our commercial light products are DLC Certified or meet the minimum DLC efficacy requirements. DLC standard requirements require a minimum level of 75-120 lm/W based on the lighting category, or a 85-135 lm/W minimum for DLC Premium. If you are looking for products with the highest efficacy, we offer UFO high bays and parking lot lights with 170 lm/W efficacy, and filament bulbs with 180 lm/W efficacy.
CRI
CRI indicates how accurately a light source depicts a product's colors compared to how it appears in daylight. Customers who can’t discern a product's color might be less likely to purchase. Using a high CRI in clothing, jewelry, and home decor stores ensures customers view products at their best quality. We offer products with ultra-high 98 CRIs, such as strip lights and downlights.
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70 CRI: Poor
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80 CRI: Good
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90 CRI: High
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95 CRI: Ultra High
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100 CRI: Perfect
CCT
CCT, measured in Kelvins (K), indicates the hue and tone of white light emitted from a bulb or fixture. We have selectable and tunable CCT products, allowing you to switch between values. Select the shade of white before installing products with selectable CCT, but you can switch values via remote or smartphone after installation for products with tunable CCT.
Lumen Intensity
Since LEDs use significantly less wattage than traditional fixtures, lumens are a better indicator of brightness. The higher the lumens, the brighter the bulb. If you’re upgrading LEDs and need a bulb similar in brightness, use lumens for accuracy. Our products list the comparable wattage of a traditional fixture, so you get a light with a similar lumen output.
Do Pick Lighting to Match the Mood
Choose the CCT based on the desired mood and shopping experience for your customers. For example, a retailer wanting a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere should utilize warm white lights. However, a cooler white is appropriate in a home appliance or furniture store where customers compare products and examine details. Install customizable lighting for a dynamic customer experience that makes your store stand out.
Do Use Lighting to Draw Attention
Use light to your advantage to highlight certain areas or create visual appeal. Directing lights on product showcases or window displays draws attention to the products. A unique lighting setup, such as cove lighting, under-shelf lighting, or decorative fixtures, is more likely to catch someone’s eye. In all, the right lighting will guide people through the store.
Do Choose Flexible Lighting
Since product displays frequently change with the seasons or with new inventory, adaptable light fixtures are essential. Implementing track lights or gimbal downlights allows you to direct the light differently.
Our RGB and RGB+CCT strip lights allow you to switch between different values to increase flexibility. Use color-changing strip lights to match the current product offering or switch between seasons. For example, when selling warm-toned clothes for the fall/winter seasons, use an ultra-warm white or red light strip, but during spring, when your product offering includes brighter colors, you can switch to a cool white or even pink or yellow.
Do Layer Your Lighting
When you decide to layer your lighting, the store will have a more dimensional look:
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Vertical layered lighting is when fixtures are installed and directed to pull customers' attention either upward or downward. This style is ideal if you have a vertical shelf of products or are highlighting signs or promotional posters.
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Horizontal layered lighting refers to lights installed level against a ceiling pane for overhead lighting or towards the ground to guide people through the store. It also relates to lighting installed along the bottoms of display cases.
What Not To Do for Retail Lighting
Don’t Forget Any Areas
While overhead lighting is important, other areas often get overlooked when planning retail lighting.
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Natural or warm white light in fitting rooms increases customers' relaxation, and a high-CRI LED light will show colors most accurately.
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Illuminate store aisles with tube lights or other linear light fixtures.
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Install exit signs and emergency backup lights to indicate the exit and ensure lighting during a power outage.
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Install additional lighting if you use multiple shelves to display products, as the higher shelves could cast shadows on the lower ones. Strip lights around the shelves can fix this.
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Strip lights installed around checkout counters can make them stand out to customers.
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Outdoor and parking lot lights can majorly affect store traffic and customer experience. A dimly lit parking lot makes your store less visible, making customers feel unsafe, increasing the accident risk, and making it challenging to capture security footage. Poorly aimed or shielded can cause glare, affecting driver visibility. Too cool of a CCT or upward light display can create light pollution, disrupting nearby ecosystems.
Don’t Use a One-Size Fits All Approach
Using different CCTs or colors and fixtures allows lighting to serve various purposes. Different parts of retail stores require different illumination levels. For example, clothing racks or jewelry cases need a cool CCT and greater lumens, but fitting rooms with warmer, diffused lighting increase customers' comfort.
Don’t Carelessly Place Fixtures
Lighting should be uniform to ensure consistency throughout; however, too many light fixtures can cause eyestrain or glare. Be cautious of glass surfaces that reflect light and create glare. If necessary, install lights with diffuser lenses to minimize brightness.
This blog provides the IES recommended footcandles (fc) and lux (lx) based on the space type. For example, the IES recommends a store’s circulation area has 10-30 fc and 108-323 lx.
Don’t Ignore Smart Lighting
Our diverse product lines include fixtures equipped with smart control features. These can adjust lighting via remote, phone/tablet, or with compatible ecosystems like Amazon Alexa or Google Home. Our NLC products are compatible with the Keilton smart app. Smart apps allow you to change the CCT or color, dim the light output, or schedule lights to turn on and off at set times. For example, scheduling lights to turn on an hour before the store opens and dim after the store is closed.
Don’t Use Traditional Lighting Technologies
LEDs are more energy-efficient and longer-lasting than incandescents and fluorescents, reducing electricity bills and replacement and maintenance costs. Unlike traditional bulbs, LEDs release little to no infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) rays. Excessive IR and UV can damage fabric, meaning lights emitting harmful radiation can cause fading on clothing or furniture.
Recommended Fixtures
Strip Light Fixtures
Our LED strip light fixtures can replace fluorescent tubes and be used in retail stores to guide customers through aisles. A variety of styles and lengths are available to adapt to your situation. The comparison chart below can help you determine which replacement fixture you need:
LED Troffer Lights
LED troffer lights fit into drop ceilings and feature LEDs in the middle of the fixture. These fixtures feature diffusers to provide overhead lighting that doesn’t produce glare.
High Bays
High bays provide broad light distributions in retail settings with ceilings at least 18 feet off the ground, such as supercenters. Hinted by their name, UFO fixtures are circular, smaller fixtures, whereas linear high bays have a rectangular shape.
Strip Lights
Strip lights can be used to accentuate product displays or under shelves for accent lighting. The adhesive backing and the ability to cut light strips simplify installation.
Recessed Downlights
Recessed downlights with built-in junction boxes or can and canless options are available to provide overhead lighting throughout retail stores. Select gimbal trim to allow you to adjust the direction of the lighting at a 360° angle.
Track Lights
Install track lights to focus lights directly on products. Track lights are adjustable, so you can move them to direct lighting on new products or displays.
Decorative Filament Bulbs
Decorative filament bulbs are a simple way to elevate a store's interior. They can be used in various applications, such as chandeliers, pendant lights, and light strings.
Parking Lot Lights
Parking lot lights ensure there is sufficient illumination outside your business at night. We carry a variety of mounting types and selectable CCT options.
Canopy Lights
Canopy lights are another type of outdoor fixture typically installed along doorways, covered walkways, or parking garages. With at least an IP65 rating, these fixtures are fit for outdoor installations and various environmental conditions.
Light Modules
Use our light modules to illuminate signs to grab customers' attention. Similar to strip lights, you can install these with an adhesive backing or with screws.
Closing
For more retail lighting options, visit our retail lighting application page. For more information or specific product questions, contact one of our product support specialists at 888-249-8166.
