4 Crucial Elements of Great Retail Lighting

It may not seem like it, but lighting is one of the most important factors in creating a desirable retail experience for your customers. To the casual observer, beautiful stores have “wonderful” lighting, but what exactly does this mean?

More often than not, it’s having lighting in multiple layers, with each layer complementing each other instead of competing to simply make the retail space as bright as possible. If your store in [city] is in need of a makeover, be sure to have these four crucial lighting layers or components.

1. Ambient or General Lighting

This is the main light source of your store. Ambient lighting provides enough light for people to see their surroundings without squinting, whether it’s the displays, counters, or shelves. In retail settings, the main purpose of ambient lighting is to help make customers feel welcome and comfortable. It should provide enough light for people to safely explore the store, go through the displays, and enjoy their time shopping.

Studies have also shown that when a shop has great lighting, customers’ experience tends to be positive and they are more likely to return or make purchases.

2. Task Lights

As the name suggests, task lights are designed to provide illuminate in areas where tasks commonly happen. For example, a common task lighting solution is a set of track lights above the checkout area. Each light is designed to maximize productivity in this area, helping employees process orders, count money and provide change, and operate point of sale machines.

These lights also play a vital role in your store’s stockroom, back office, service desks, and dressing rooms. Surfaces like tables, counters, and benches would also benefit with these fixtures.

3. Accent Lights

Accent lights help you highlight specific sections of your store—think displays or shelves with new items on stock or products current on sale. These lights also accentuate details in your space, such as decorative pieces and artwork.

Accent lights don’t have to be super bright, but when positioned properly, they can draw a customer’s attention to parts of the store you want people to see. Use them on shelves and walls to highlight décor or interior details, or in corners to eliminate shadows.

4. Decorative Lights

As mentioned earlier, light fixtures not only give brightness to a retail store, they also serve a decorative purpose. Look for interesting light fixtures that match the style and theme of your shop. Any fixture that has an aesthetic detail to it, such as a chandelier, track light system, pendant lights, or even neon and other signs that use light, can be used as a decorative light. Experiment with these and don’t be afraid to play around with different types of fixtures and even light colors.

Other than the different types of lights, you should also consider the light quality of the bulbs you’re using for your store. LEDs are perfect for the job due their high color rendering index (this means they allow colors to appear accurately), long lifespan, and energy efficiency.