When setting up and designing a new retail store, many owners worry about the product placement and display, the general layout of their shop, and much more. However, many tend to overlook certain components that should be included in every well-designed place.
Failing to realize and understand the importance of certain elements can greatly hinder your business, so it is extremely important to plan everything out carefully and in great detail.
Just like scents, temperature, and music play a significant part in providing the customers with an ultimate shopping experience, lighting is another component that can contribute to not only this but an increase in your sales as well.
As unbelievable as it may sound, many retailers have been using lighting as a useful tool to attract customers and boost their sales. You might be curious how something like this even works, so here is what you need to know, as well as some reasons you should use it in your store.
Retail Lighting Types
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Creating an effective lighting system in your retail shop requires adding it in layers and following a certain order when it comes to planning out the amount and types of lights and fixtures you are gonna use. You should stick to the following order and include these types:
1. Decorative
The fixtures can be used in window displays, front entrances, as well as any other prominent place. Great for creating and setting the mood or emphasizing one’s brand, they are perfect for places like higher-end boutiques or furniture shops but should not be used in ones such as sporting goods or grocery stores.
2. Accent
This lighting type plays an important role in emphasizing certain products and displays and highlighting them perfectly. Track lighting that includes adjustable heads is great if you are constantly moving or changing your displays while recessed lighting will do wonders for your permanent ones.
Moreover, incorporating lights into your display cases can grab the attention of potential customers and interest them in a particular product.
3. Task
These fixtures are brighter than others and should be used in areas where employees need to be focused and alert such as the checkout register.
4. General (Ambient)
This type should always come last so that you do not over illuminate certain areas of your shop. Generally, they should be used to fill any dark areas that are left after the installation of all the other lighting fixtures.
Why Utilize LED Lighting in Your Shop?
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1. It Helps Set the Mood and Make Customers Feel Relaxed
Dimmed lighting is considered warmer and helps create a feeling of relaxation, so consumers are encouraged to shop at their own pace. It also makes their experience seem more welcoming and intimate.
On the other hand, although high-activity lighting is often seen as cold and uninviting, it can actually make your space look bigger and encourage consumers to think quickly and make impulse purchases. It is also important for outlets where people need to see their products well.
Besides that, thinking smartly, being creative, and using different lighting types in your windows display can attract more people to your business.
2. It Can Draw Attention to Certain Areas and Products
LED lighting can be used to draw attention in many different ways and it can help you create a visual appeal unlike any other. You can use decorative light fixtures, place lights under shelves to add a nice highlight, or simply use lightboxes to promote certain items in your shop. You can feature LED signs or light boxes in your window display too.
Another important thing to have is a sign on the exterior of your store that displays the name of your business. There is a variety of styles and types to choose from, so you can choose a lit version and design the look on your own. There are many shops and online stores such as nordiksign.dk that specialize in custom signage.
3. It Encourages Consumers to Spend More Time in Your Shop
One of the reasons a good system boosts one’s sales is because it eliminates any dark spaces and encourages customers to explore different areas of the shop that they might have overlooked otherwise. Properly illuminating your space will ensure all parts of it are equally exposed, drawing attention to all of its products, so not only will consumers spend more time exploring, but they are also more likely to buy more items as well.
4. Reduces Energy and Maintenance Costs
Besides being extremely low maintenance, LED lights are also extremely energy-efficient. They are cheaper to operate and can reduce your energy bills up to 75% which is not only drastic but also immensely beneficial since the cost of energy is one of the biggest expenses retailers have to deal with.
Things to Avoid
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Wrong Positioning – Having lights constantly aimed at your customer’s faces and shining directly into their eyes is surely not a pleasant experience. This is why it is important to position your lighting above the products you are selling but away from people’s faces. You are trying to enhance their shopping experience, after all, so be careful about the direction of your fixtures.
Overdoing it – Too many colors, bright lights, and different lighting fixtures can be overwhelming for your customer’s senses. Avoid doing that by understanding what is too much and knowing when to stop.
Overlooking Certain Areas – It might be easy to overlook certain areas of your shop, especially if they are not the focal points of it. However, that does not make them less important.
Fitting rooms, for example, are where most customers decide whether to buy something or not. Use a warm or natural white light to best showcase the colors and quality of your products and increase your chances of selling more due to it.
Conclusion
Coupons, advertisements, and discounts are not the only things that can bring more customers to your retail store. Creating a great and effective lighting system can also immensely help with this. Just take your time and put in some effort and you will see your sales increase in no time.
