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In-Store Design: Lighting

qualicominnovations
Jul 15, 2016
3 min read

You know you're about to enter an Abercrombie & Fitch store by the way your nostrils begin to flare from the strong odour of perfume and the way your eyes squint because of the sudden dimness of the store. It's become a popular signature for A&F everywhere in the world but is it really benefiting the company? There has been reports of parents and kids bumping into the furniture as they unravel the maze of the A&F store and some have even complained it's too dark to see the price tag. A&F and Hollister managers have expressed that the reason behind the dark stores is to make it feel more VIP and club-like for customers to feel relaxed and important, in hopes they spend more. A&F provides a certain atmosphere for customers and whether it's good or bad, it sets them apart from all other retailers in the same business. But will this scheme last? How important is lighting for retail stores? Restaurants?

Truth is, lighting affects your mood. If it's a darker room, you'll feel a little gloomier and maybe a little more tired than you already are. A lighter room can make you feel more present, more alive, but maybe too bright it's blinding, causing you to leave the store quicker than you came in. So what's the right lighting to help boost customer traffic? Unfortunately, there's no right answer because it really does depend on what you're trying to sell. If you're selling food, you'd want a brighter store to show the true colours of the food as the aesthetic. If you're selling clothes, you might want to make the store a little dimmer and focus more spotlights on your product. There's a lot of ways you can design lighting inside your stores to attract customers and boost sales. A lighting manufacturer, Zumtobel, recently conducted research on lighting vs. sales, and from their results came up with 6 tips to improve retail sales with lighting:

1. Contrast is your friend:

Retail lighting should be high contrast, making perception easier and heightening levels of attention.

2. Distribute light right:

Diffuse general lighting ensures a subjective sense of well-being. Vertical illuminance makes orientation easier and the easier it is for customers to find their way around, the more likely they are to walk around a shop.

3. Consider colour temperature:

Cool colour temperatures such as cool whitemake areas appear more spacious whereas warm colour temperatures create an impression of smallness and familiarity.

4. Work those windows:

In shop windows, use pinpoint accenting to emphasise perceived contrasts. In the evening and when there is little daylight, even low illuminance levels are sufficient.

5. Put the light down low:

Targeted accent lighting or dynamic lighting in the lower third of shelves results in customers lingering longer and may boost sales. Shelf-integrated lighting is recommended at all levels.

6. It’s not all about accents:

Wide-area backlighting of shelves produces a more attractive effect than accent lighting only.

Their research reports concluded that: "By cleverly designing the light spectrum, it is possible to generate various light impressions and optimise the colour appearance of objects." Maybe these tips will help you in the future development of stores, or even prompt you to re-think the current design of your store and restaurant. Don't lose customers just because your store might too dark or too bright. Put some excitement and flair into the personality of lights in your store!