3 Creative Lighting Techniques to Enhance Your Retail Space

It’s no secret that good lighting is essential in any retail space. The way you light your room goes a long way toward creating an inviting atmosphere, showcasing specific products, and helping customers find what they’re looking for. But as anyone who’s ever tried to brighten up a dark corner knows, not every lighting system works for every display, and most retail lighting has its limitations–especially when you rely on pre-installed systems when moving into a space.

The good news is that with careful planning and lighting choices, you can outfit your retail space so your lighting system can adapt easily to your changing needs. Let’s discuss 3 techniques you can integrate to make your retail lighting more adaptive and effective.

Integrate Lighting from Multiple Sources

One way to make your retail lighting more flexible is to use light from multiple sources. This can include a mix of natural and artificial light, as well as different types of fixtures. A well-lit retail space will incorporate the following types of lighting:

• Ambient lighting: General illumination of the space, which can come from fixed overhead lighting, recessed lighting, valance wall lighting, etc.
• Accent lighting: Brighter individual lights used for showcasing specific displays, illuminating dark corners, etc. (Track lighting is an excellent choice for accent use.)
• Task lighting: Illuminating certain areas for customer tasks (e.g., dressing rooms, cashier counters).

By integrating a variety of light sources, you can create different effects depending on the look you’re going for and the products you’re displaying. Additionally, different types of light emanating from multiple sources can give customers a more psychologically satisfying experience.

Consider LED Lights versus Fluorescent

While fluorescent lighting has been the norm in many retail spaces for years, it tends to give off a cool, stark light that’s not always comfortable for customers (or employees, for that matter). LED lights are becoming increasingly popular in retail settings because they’re energy-efficient and they have a long lifespan. But even more, LED lights give you more control of brightness, color spectrum and temperature so you can blend warms, cools, and brightness levels to create just the right atmosphere to display your products and set the mood for customers.

Invest in Programmable Lighting and Automation

One of the biggest limitations with retail lighting is that it’s difficult to adapt it to changing needs. Most retailers have to configure their displays around their lighting, not the other way around. A great solution to this dilemma is to install a programmable automated lighting system, one that gives you full control over all lighting aspects throughout the store. From a centralized control panel (or even from an app on your phone), you can program different lighting effects for certain times of day, change accent lighting over different displays (without having to move either the lights OR the displays), change color and warm/cool effects to draw the eye to specific parts of the store, and much more. Some systems can also be linked to daylight sensors so they detect when natural light is available and adjust the brightness for you automatically

No matter what type of retail space you have, there’s a lighting solution that will work for you. By getting creative with your lighting, you can create a store that’s not only more inviting and appealing to customers, but also more functional and efficient. The skilled electricians at Apollo Electric have been providing high-quality electrical and lighting systems for retailers throughout NYC and the Tri-State area for many years. To learn more, contact us today.