Lighting: Vital for Successful Retail Store Designs

The lighting concept is the one singular aspect that makes a store design concept succeed or fail. It is also the one factor that has the biggest impact on the sales performance of a store.

What is good lighting in retail design?

A lighting concept for a retail store is usually designed in four steps:

1. Product Displays

Product displays are the areas of the store that need to be the brightest and stand out. In the end, everything in a store is about selling. When thinking about the lighting plan for the display areas, factors that are important to consider are the size and height of the displays as well as the way the products will be displayed. The products have to be well lit from the front and ideally the side as well, even if they are displayed in different ways over time. One very important element is the lighting design of the store window displays, since proper lighting will attract customers from afar, drawing them into the store.

2. Accent Lighting: Branding

Once the lighting for the product displays has been defined, it is important to identity areas that are important for branding and marketing purposes that require accent lighting. These include logo applications, signs, and poster light boxes. These elements need to be easily noticeable but should not be brighter than the product displays.

3. Task Lighting: Work Areas

After the lighting for the products and brand elements is designed, it is time to think about the store's internal processes and work areas. The areas where people work require proper lighting: cashier counter, storage room and back office. Is this it? No! There is one more lighting aspect that is vital.

4. General Lighting

The above three points are always required for lighting concepts that are part of store designs. When they are professionally planned they greatly affect the atmosphere and sales performance of a store. In the final stage of planning, the existing lighting design needs to be checked against the space planning to identify areas that are too bright or too dark. A good lighting concept contrasts and highlights the most important elements, while also providing a comfortable atmosphere for customers in the store. Where the lighting contrast (bright – dark) is too big, general lighting should be added. This is usually done in the center of the store or above walkways or corridors.

In general, the brighter a store, the more products it will sell. This does not mean that the quantity and brightness of the lighting products has to be increased – using too many lighting products produces heat in the store, damages retail products and overpowers the electricity system, resulting in very high electricity bills. It goes without saying that such lighting designs are not good for the environment.

What should be done instead is to design lighting foci and use smart solutions: highlight walls instead of the floor, use LEDs and a good mix of neutral and warm lighting.