Retail lighting: How important is it?

Retail lighting is an important part of our shop fit-out services as it is an integral component of the design and aesthetic of a retail store.

The way a store is lit can have a major impact on everything from customer engagement to staff morale. It’s even been shown that effective lighting can actually boost sales. As such, it needs to be carefully considered when planning a shop fitting project.

When designed and installed thoughtfully and expertly, retail lighting can enhance your company’s image, add character and interest to your shop, and make your products look more exciting.

There’s even a theory called the Limbic Emotional Assessment that claims retail sales can be increased by matching your lighting to your target customers’ personality traits!

Even without going as far as such theories, it’s generally acknowledged that the way you light your retail unit has an influence on how your customers perceive you and the products you are selling.

Retail lighting goes hand in hand with store layout and product offering in encouraging people to shop with you. It allows you to showcase your merchandise in its best light. Products can look more attractive and ‘cleaner’ under certain types of light, and the colours and features of an object can be intensified.

The right retail lighting can enhance everything from the shop window to the nooks and crannies. It can create a great first impression on the high street, complement the products you’re offering and add to the general customer experience. And if you have a fitting room, the way it is lit is vital!

Ambient lighting or accent lighting?

Ambient light can be warm, helping create a relaxed, welcoming impression. Or it can be ‘cool’, which can make a space feel bigger. Accent lighting and spotlights are a great way to highlight products or certain areas of a shop. They can help direct and drive customers through your store, and illuminate shelving and corners that may otherwise be overlooked. Dimmed lighting can create a relaxed and intimate atmosphere.

Because of the very different qualities afforded by ambient lighting and accent lighting, many retailers opt for a mix of both. This provides contrast throughout the premises, allows for a warm and friendly vibe, and guides people to specific areas or products.

LED lighting in retail premises

Retail lighting has been transformed by the development of LED technology, which offers a wide range of lighting options at an increasingly affordable price.

LED lights can offer a great deal of versatility in colour, brightness and intensity. There’s a huge range of retail LED lighting options to choose from, including bulbs for spotlights or can lights, tube lights for fluorescent light fixtures, panel lights to replace entire fluorescent fixtures, strip lights (great for display cases and shelf lighting) and colour-changing bulbs or panels. You can even get LED filaments now that recreate the look of a traditional incandescent bulb – perfect for a retro-look store.

Aside from the flexibility and innovation offered by LEDs, they also offer some major financial and environmental benefits. LED lights can reduce your electricity bill by, on average, between 60% and 85%. They’re virtually maintenance free and they create less wastage. Read our previous blog here to find out more about the benefits of LED lighting.

As a well-established electrical contracting company, DRF electrical can advise you on your retail lighting for shop fit-out projects. We have a wealth of experience in designing and installing lighting systems in the retail sector, and have worked with a number of blue chip high street companies. We are involved in a range of projects from small, single-store fit-outs right through to nationwide schemes and upgrades.