The Impact of Lighting
By Mike Burcham
“Having proper and sufficient lighting level in a retail space is important for the customer to see the product,” said Bruce Krekeler, a recently retired senior electrical project engineer at Hixson, a Cincinnati, Ohio based architecture and engineering firm. “In a small commercial space the lighting is about selling the product and feeling safe and comfortable in the environment. You want your customers to feel safe and wanting to come into the store.”
The role of lighting in the appearance of a retail space cannot be understated.
“Lighting can play an important role in delivering an elevated customer experience by making the space more engaging using creative designs and lowering glare with direct and indirect elements,” said Cecil Thomas, senior product manager at LSI Industries.
Many newly constructed sites use an open ceiling concept with improved lighting creating a comfortable and inviting environment.
“Well-lit open ceilings give off a spacious vibe and present challenges as well as opportunities for great lighting,” said Thomas. “Continuous or standalone linear lighting is one option that is often used in such spaces to elevate the aesthetic appeal.”
Allowing natural light into the indoor space is now common, but once the sun sets, operators want to maintain a well-lit, secure space. Adding intelligent or smart controls to your indoor lighting can help keep the light inside the store balanced throughout the day and night.
“Lighting controls have advanced to the point where they aren’t even noticeable anymore,” Thomas said. “Mesh based systems have become prevalent in the market and these intelligent systems are more configurable than ever before, to meet the most stringent of energy codes while maximizing energy savings and ROI. The best control systems use a common interface for both indoor and outdoor lighting, substantially reducing the implementation timeline.”
Additionally, many convenience store operators are growing their product offering inside the store. Soda, water and grab ‘n go snacks remain staples, but many locations are now offering fresh items like fruit or made to order sandwiches. Several brands have added onsite kitchens to offer freshly crafted hot food items.
“Using higher colour rendering indices, lighting can play an important role in reproducing colours of fresh fruits and vegetables more accurately so that customers can make the best decisions for their lifestyle. Lighting can also draw customers’ attention to profit centers like coffee or snacks, benefiting both the store operator and the customer in terms of ease of locating items,” Thomas said.
Correctly merchandising these new items is essential and proper indoor lighting is critical.
“Higher colour temperature is important in smaller retail space with products of all colours, shapes and packaging.,” Krekeler said. “The ability for LED products to be different colour temperatures makes this easier in small spaces.”
All of these more recent trends for indoor spaces contribute to more customers choosing to enter a convenience store for essential items and once inside, customers tend to stay longer which leads to more purchases.
“The initial feeling of safety to enter the space is critical,” Krekeler said. “Bright enough for people to feel comfortable entering and then staying in there.”
Mike Burcham is the marketing communications manager at LSI Industries based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Contact him at mike.burcham@lsicorp.com.
