The future of lighting in the new retail sector
Jun 30 2021
The retail sector has undergone a major transformation in recent years. The acceleration of certain consumer trends and behaviour has meant that retail spaces are changing and adapting in order to give their customers a different type of experience.
Lighting has always been considered to be a key element in providing the best possible customer experience. As well as enhancing the brand through its integration with the company’s interior design, it also helps to optimise the flow of both workers and consumers.
It is clear that there is a broad diversity in the different areas that make up a shop, including shop windows, the general sales area, display areas, the main areas of circulation, and customer attention at counters and dressing rooms, etc. All of these areas have their own particular lighting requirements in order to meet the emotional and functional needs of the customers and workers. And, of course, this must always be carried out in line with the communication and positioning strategy that each brand offers through its corporate image.
Some of the trends that are bringing about these transformations in the retail sector are:
- The migration of big brands to city centres
- The rise of proximity marketing
- Greater environmental awareness on the behalf of the consumers
- The exponential growth of e-commerce.
We’re now going to list some of the transformations that retail spaces are undergoing in order to adapt to these trends. In addition to this, we’ll see how lighting, a key element in generating a great shopping experience, responds to these needs.
Lighting as a focal point in urban retailing
Commercial areas in cities require greater integration with the urban environment while, at the same time, retaining the focus on capturing the attention of passers-by.
Shop windows are visual presentations of the experiences being offered to the customer on the inside. For this reason, the lighting in these areas can be quite dynamic and striking, as it is the first point of contact with potential customers. However, at the same time, it must be respectful of the environment and not produce light pollution or excessively intrusive light. The dynamism of the lighting can become an excellent resource to capture people’s attention, and can also provide the option to modify the lighting effects to allow for changes in the season or in the design of the shop window.
In the general sales area, lighting helps to highlight certain areas or points of interest by using different levels and types of illumination; you can also make use of the different effects associated with accent lighting. In addition to this, it is possible to highlight the spatial hierarchy of the so-called "hot spots" in the retail area (those that are more relevant and which aim to attract more traffic, as they are the busiest and most visible). In this way, through lighting, we can help to highlight the counters, displays, or other areas of special relevance, helping the user to identify them more easily.
In order to achieve these eye-catching effects, a shop's lighting has three layers of illumination:
- General horizontal lighting, which, depending on the brand image and the desired intention, will have varying levels of brightness.
- Vertical lighting, which will allow us to illuminate the vertical planes we wish to highlight, and, at the same time, will provide us with a better visual and spatial perception.
- Accent lighting, which will focus the attention on specific points. The balance in terms of the accentuated lighting contrast also goes hand in hand with the communication and positioning of the brand. It does so by seeking to achieve varying degrees of eye-catching effects with this last layer of lighting.
To create this type of lighting, you can use adjustable floodlights from the Hance family. Thanks to the wide reflector apertures (10º - 37º) and the combination of optical accessories, such as the elliptical lens or the Soft lens, this family of lights can meet all your lighting needs.
A better purchasing experience through the use of lighting
The rise of local commerce, and a greater ecological awareness on the part of the users, have brought to the fore the so-called "Slow-Shopping". This form of shopping, which is far more leisurely than normal shopping, means that your commercial space needs to be divided into several different types of areas, each with its own distinctive type of lighting.
This helps you to create diverse atmospheres and an increase in lighting quality, thus increasing the average time spent in these areas.
Having luminaires equipped with a light source that supplies a good colour rendering capacity is extremely important in order to improve the overall shopping experience. LED technology allows us to measure this capacity thanks to the Colour Rendering Index (CRI).
However, this is not the only metric that tells us about the quality of light in terms of its ability to reproduce colours. The TM-30-15 method helps us to get to know data such as colour fidelity (Rf) and saturation (Rg):
- The colour fidelity index (Rf) allows us to know if the colour we’re perceiving is close to a "natural" color, or if, on the contrary, there are deviations in perception. Values close to 100 would show us a colour in a very natural light.
- The saturation index (Rg) helps us to know the degree of saturation of a colour in certain shades.
These two indexes help us to choose the best light source to reproduce the different colours and shades we need, whether this be the illumination of the objects on display or to improve the perception of the environment. At the same time, it allows us to implement certain strategies, thanks to which we can maximise and enhance specific characteristics of the materials.
The new breed of conscious consumers demands a holistic experience, as well as an identification with brand values. These values shouldn’t only be reflected in the products on offer, but the whole area should also convey this sustainable awareness on behalf of the brands. For this reason, the lighting solutions in the area must be:
- Highly energy efficient
- Designed using concepts of eco-design and circularity, to allow better recyclability of the product at the end of its useful life
All this is possible with solutions such as the Hance projection model, which can be fitted with specific light sources for these applications, such as the LED RETAIL.
Lighting to add dynamics to the exhibition area
The rise of e-commerce and the omnichannel phenomenon means that the shopping process is increasingly becoming a hybrid process between the online and offline experience.
This trend, on the one hand, offers us the opportunity to enjoy experiential shopping areas. In these, the experience, the element of surprise, and distinctiveness play a significant role in brand generation. On the other hand, there are large logistical areas aimed at optimising the whole process.
Lighting plays an important role in dynamising and driving experiential spaces. Thanks to this, it is possible to reinforce the so-called "cold spots" (those with lower performance) transforming them into "hot spots" by improving their visibility and improving and encouraging the circulation flow of the consumers.
Different strategies can be employed to achieve this, from raising the lighting level - using projectors with more concentrated optics to achieve greater light contrast - or by using dynamic lighting that introduces a variety of intensities and tones that change over time.
- Flexibility: The chosen lighting system must be flexible enough to adapt to all the changes in the display area, such as the use of luminaires on track.
- Dynamic: The technology used can allow for changes in the products that are on display, modifying both intensity and colour temperature.
The Nomadic system allows the use of different types of luminaires in this spatial transformation, thus adapting to changes in layout according to the seasons. These include projectors, suspended or surface-mounted downlights (such as the Kombic 100 Track), or linear luminaires that complement the lighting in counter or customer service areas (such as Lamptub 60).
Dynamic lighting helps to create more people-orientated spaces, making them more fluid and organic. The lighting supplied by the luminaires in shops affects the customers’ sensory perception and mood: a cool white light, for example, relates to the feeling of spaciousness, while a warm light gives the impression of intimacy and comfort.
- It allows us to create experiences that are very different to the online commerce experience. Lighting in physical shops adapts to both the customers’ shopping habits and experience, making it more people-oriented.
- It creates more dynamic commercial areas, adapting at all times to the needs of the business, while, at the same time, making it possible to maintain a lighting coherence that the customer can easily identify with the brand.
- It facilitates interaction between the commercial space and its customers and workers. The lighting ambience is adapted to the elements as well as to the use of the different spaces, customer flow, or density.
If you are setting up a project in this sector and need advice on which lighting setup best suits your objectives, then do not hesitate to get in touch with us and we will give you advice personally adapted to your needs.