When you are setting up a retail store, there are lots of things you consider. The décor of the shop, where the stock is placed, the layout of tills and even the exterior shop front. But there’s one element that can be easily overlooked – the lighting in the shop. Lighting can make a massive difference to the feel of the store and also is very practical – poor lighting means people can’t see your products properly! Here are some tips on using creative and custom lighting to make your shop perfect.
Why lighting matters
One study showed that in-store lighting can actually help to get people moving around the shop and potentially even increase their spending. One German fashion retailer saw an increase of around 12% in one store compared to another when the only difference was the lighting installed. It was chosen specifically to appeal to the profile of their ideal customer and clearly worked.
This shows that lighting isn’t just a case of popping up a few overhead lights and leaving it at that. But how do you use lighting in clever ways?
Creating an atmosphere
When people enter your shop, you want to create an atmosphere, a feeling that makes people comfortable. That mood can have a big impact on people’s reaction to the products in the store and lighting plays a big part in this.
LED lighting has also added to the range and style of lighting you can add to your store. Vertical and horizontal lighting can be mixed while layer lighting such as floodlights helps to highlight products. And it is also easy to change the mood of the store with the use of the many different colours and colour temperatures available with LED lighting.
Warm, soft lighting makes a luxury feel while bright, cool light makes it easier to see the details of products. So, a shoe store might go for the soft, warm feel that makes customers feel comfortable trying on the shoes. But a store selling computers might go for cool, bright lights that let the customer really see what they are buying.
Choosing the lighting type
There are a few main categories of lighting to choose from when customising the light in your store.
- Ambient lighting – this is the overall lighting and creates that general atmosphere mentioned above
- Accent lighting – this is something like spotlights that draw the attention to a specific product or area and is commonly used in luxury stores
- High activity lighting – this is used to ensure there are no dark or shadowy corners of the store so that people see everything available
- Backlighting – this is used to create a soft, intimate atmosphere while still allowing the products to be clearly seen and is often used with shelves
Getting the right lighting
There’s no doubt that the right lighting can make a big difference to the look and feel of your store. And it is a great way to be creative and to highlight your most important or best-selling products. So, it is an important part of creating or renovating any shop space.
Technical signs are experts in designing, manufacturing and installing all types of commercial lighting, signage and metal work in any type of environment. Discuss your requirements with us today to make something special for your brand.
