Did you know that you can design your store’s lights to encourage shoppers to buy more?

Stephen Bignell from Sera Lighting shares five lighting design tips to use in your store and transform your customers’ shopping experience:

1. Design an irresistible shop front

First impressions are important, which is why your shop front must be well lit to catch the attention of passers-by and encourage them to come inside. If your inside lighting is too dim, people may think your shop is closed.

Eastern Daily Press: 'Use track lighting to help you create stunning window displays.''Use track lighting to help you create stunning window displays.' (Image: Archant)

Use track lighting to help you create stunning window displays – you can train the lights to highlight your top-selling products. Track lighting is flexible and versatile, meaning you can adjust your lights to update or refresh your visual display and catch customers’ attention.

Choose from a variety of fittings and decorative pendants to personalise your lights – a track adaptor will allow you to fit them easily.

2. Flood your changing rooms with ‘natural daylight’

No, I don’t mean you need to build additional windows, but instead create the illusion of soft, fresh light. It’s best to use high-quality downlights that produce natural daylight colour and have a high colour rendering index (CRI).

This allows shoppers to see the true colours of the clothes they’re buying, how they will look in them and encourage them to make a purchase.

I recommend installing accent strip lighting outside of your changing rooms, that’s not as bright to make your customers feel at ease, happy to try on clothes and stay in-store longer.

3. Tailor your display lighting to suit your products

It’s essential to get your display lighting right - you can use it to make your products look more appealing to potential buyers. The type of products you sell can help you decide which lighting is best.

Eastern Daily Press: 'Use warm light to create a cosy ambience and set the mood of your store.''Use warm light to create a cosy ambience and set the mood of your store.' (Image: Archant)

For furniture and homeware, use warm light to create a cosy ambience. It will help customers picture the items in their homes. White light works best to highlight the colour of fabric and show off clothing and accessories. Shoppers need to see products clearly to help them imagine how they will look when wearing them.

You need a lighting solution that can be adjusted – this will allow you to change the layout of your shop, move products around and arrange them to best suit your current display. One of the best options for display lights is suspended track lighting as it can be mounted anywhere, is simple to install, and you can choose from contemporary to industrial spotlights to suit your retail environment.

4. Illuminate your checkout area to stand out

Customers should be able to spot this area easily – use a bright or distinct style of lighting in this area to make it stand out from the rest of your shop. Hanging pendant lights or a large LED ring pendant light will look stylish. It will make your checkout area easy for customers to find and create a positive shopper experience that will encourage them to come back again.

Eastern Daily Press: 'You can use linear lighting to guide customers through the store and ensure they don't miss any aisles.''You can use linear lighting to guide customers through the store and ensure they don't miss any aisles.' (Image: Archant)

5. Guide customers through your store

Your gangways don’t need to be highlighted like your display or checkout areas, but can be lit in such a way that can help guide customers through your store.

You can use linear lighting to help them move from front to back and ensure they don’t miss any aisles. This gives customers the chance to browse the full range of your products and can encourage them to spend more.

You can suspend the lights, link them together, or use recessed lighting to create sleek lines of light that will suit contemporary retail spaces.

Lighting solutions for your retail space

At Sera Technologies, we offer a range of energy-efficient LED fixtures to use in your commercial space. Our expert and friendly team can offer bespoke lighting solutions that will help you set the mood, create a positive experience for your customers, and enhance the look of your shop.

Visit seratechnologies.com for more lighting design tips or to explore our commercial lighting guide.

Call 01727 600 102 or email sales@seratechnologies.com.