Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Why Choose LED Lighting?






There are a few reasons why LED lighting has become one of the most popular choices in the lighting world. LED lights are a revolutionary, efficient lighting solution. Here are a few reasons why you should choose LED lighting over other alternatives.

More energy efficient

One of the most frequently mentioned benefit of LED bulbs is their superior energy efficiency. LED bulbs produce more lumens, or visible light, per watt, meaning a lower wattage LED bulb will produce the same amount of light as a higher wattage incandescent or CFL bulb. On average, LED bulbs produce 600% more light per watt than incandescent bulbs and 50% more light than CFL bulbs. Because they require a lower wattage to produce the same amount of light as other bulbs, LEDs require less energy.
Longer lifespan

Because LED light bulbs use less power, LED bulbs have lifespans that are typically rated as high as 50,000 to 100,000 hours. That means, if used for 10 hours a day, an LED bulb can last between 13 and 26 years! Comparatively, CFL bulbs average a lifespan of 8,000 hours and incandescent bulbs average 1,200 hours.

Better return on your investment

Because they’re more energy efficient and last longer, LED bulbs offer a better return on your investment. Though LED bulbs can be more expensive in terms of initial costs, other varieties of lighting will need to be replaced more frequently and require higher energy use, leading to higher long term costs.

More environmentally friendly

LED lighting is already more environmentally friendly than other lighting options because of its longer lifespan and reduced energy requirements. But there are other aspects of LED lighting that make it even more environmentally friendly. LED bulbs are free of toxic materials and are 100% recyclable. Though CFLs are often touted as an environmentally friendly choice, they contain mercury, which is toxic to the environment. LED lights also release less CO2.

For these reasons and more, LED lighting has become a popular choice. Make the switch to LED lighting today!


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Friday, July 20, 2018

How Retail Dressing Room Lighting Affects Sales

How Retail Dressing Room Lighting Affects Sales





It’s no secret that dressing room lighting gets a bad rap. It’s what makes finding that rare flattering dressing room lighting such a pleasant surprise. Here’s how and why you should make sure your dressing room lighting is poised for sales success.

It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that flattering dressing room lighting is more likely to result in sales. If customers like the way they look, they’re more likely to buy the outfit they’re wearing. Two out of three shoppers try clothing on before they purchase. In addition to two-thirds of shoppers trying before buying, those purchases are also a little more secure. Clothing that has been tried on before purchase is less likely to be returned, so in actuality, clothing that has been tried on accounts for more than two-thirds of net sales.

So, it’s been demonstrated that how clothing looks on a customer affects their purchasing behavior. But how should you set up your dressing room lighting to generate more sales?

Numerous studies on the subject have examined how dressing room lighting not only affects purchases, but also customer’s emotional state and their perceptions of their own appearance and their environment. In these studies, customers tended to prefer how they looked in dressing rooms that utilized frontal lighting. For dressing rooms in which harsh overhead lighting was used, shoppers tended to disapprove of how the lighting cast shadows on their face and body and tended to accentuate unflattering features on the clothing they were trying on. Frontal lighting eliminated this issue.

In addition to being more flattering, frontal lighting makes dressing rooms appear more spacious, which can influence shopper’s positive association with the room. A negative perception of the atmosphere and space can be distracting to shoppers and discourage them from staying in the store. Proper lighting can boost customers’ moods, and sales.

Where your lighting is placed isn’t the only thing you should focus on when designing dressing room lighting. It’s also important to consider the color rendering index (CRI) of the light source you’re using. Lights that do not accurately render colors can cause issues with customers’ perceptions of their appearance as well as the items of clothing they’re trying on. Trying something on that looks one color in the store and a different color outside of the store could lead to items being returned more frequently.




Monday, June 25, 2018

What Does the Future of Retail Lighting Look Like?

What Does the Future of Retail Lighting Look Like?





As consumer behavior continues to evolve and shift toward the digital, the effects on brick-and-mortar stores become clear. But instead of resigning to these changes and any negative impact on your store, there are ways retail store owners can work with these changes to attract consumers--and that includes store lighting.

Today, an estimated 60% of all shopping is influenced by digital experiences, whether it’s shopping online or using an AI assistant or other online service. Despite this, it’s important to remember that certain aspects of shopping in a store will never be able to be recreated digitally. The new face of retail is about blending the digital and the physical. Embracing these new technologies adds to consumers’ experiences keeps them shopping in-store rather than driving sales online. Your store’s experience should strike a balance between the digital and the physical, helping entice more modern-minded consumers without intimidating older or more traditional consumers.

As consumer behavior has shifted, so has a shift in how retail spaces market themselves to consumers and the importance of offering differentiated experiences to shoppers. An increased emphasis on retail spaces as community spaces has emerged, and lighting plays a huge role in making those spaces look interesting and inviting. Draw customers in with attractive lighting and signage that establishes your brand identity, and keep your lighting design fresh to keep customers coming back. Changing lighting to suit the different seasons or accent new displays or highlight products keeps the shopper’s experience new and exciting.

As previously mentioned on this blog, using LED lighting with indoor positioning heightens the shopper’s experience by connecting to a smartphone app. This lighting can track the shopper’s position in the store and be used to help them shop more efficiently and enhance their experience by drawing their attention to sales or products they may be interested in. This data can be invaluable to better understanding your customers’ in-store habits and making sure your store is working to suit their needs and behaviors by stocking the products they’re looking for, making sure your lighting guides their journey through the store and more.

Regardless of the technologies currently in place, technology that augments how we shop isn’t going away any time soon, and new tools and services will continue to come and go. It’s important that your store--including your lighting design--embraces these changes to continue to add value for your customers.



Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Why Lighting is Important for Your Store’s Branding


Why Lighting is Important for Your Store’s Branding




On this blog, the idea that your store’s lighting design shouldn’t be an afterthought is well-established. But, more than that, your lighting design is essential to establish your store’s brand, which can enhance customers’ experiences, keep them coming back or even draw them into your store in the first place.

Your store’s lighting creates an atmosphere and impacts shoppers’ experiences and can affect a shopper’s mood and perception of your products. A recent study by Lux claims that a fashion retailer in Germany saw its sales increase by roughly 12% compared to another comparable store after it installed new lighting designed to appeal to the personality profile of its target customers.

To establish the right kind of atmospheric lighting, first think about how you want customers to feel in your store. Your lighting color temperature plays a major role in this. Warmer temperatures are calming, inviting and relaxing, while cool, white light energize and increase alertness.

The lighting fixtures themselves, and not just the lighting they emit, also affect your store’s atmosphere. More eclectic and elaborate fixtures paint a different picture than modern, sleek track lighting.  

You should continue to follow good store lighting practices while considering how your lighting can establish your store’s brand, including varying your lighting styles, balancing lighting contrast and accenting focal points,

Finding the right lighting design and branding can be a trial and error process, and you may need to try a few different approaches before you get it right, but rest assured, it’s an investment in your store’s future, and one your customers will appreciate.