Light is never more intended to seduce than when its purpose is commercial. The importance of lighting at the point of sale is total, as it is a necessary element for the operation of commercial activity, and can be used as a promotion, motivation, or a lure for the customer to buy. Does it matter in Australia too? The answer is yes!
Adequate and modern lighting is becoming an increasingly important priority. Light helps to sell. Good and correct lighting increases the number of customers, the number of sales and, most importantly, the customer stays in the shop because they feels comfortable. The quality of light helps us to achieve this.
Subtly, lighting should invite, motivate, and incite to try a food or buy a product; if the idea is to illuminate a boutique, the aim is to make the customer perceive the colour and the details, to make him think that he wants to look like that and buy the garment; in the same way, the light should do the same in a jewellery shop or a car dealership or, why not, in a gourmet or chocolate shop, where the visual impact awakens the desire to have what is on display.
The spaces inside the shop should be like stages and the articles should be the object of desire for our customers. The lighting causes them to focus on them, giving a plus over the well-lit areas or products. Lighting techniques, whether basic or provocative, apply to any part of the shop, including the shop window where we transmit our image and what can be found inside. It is therefore very important to have the right quality and quantity of light. Temporary actions should be given the same treatment as a permanent one or even more since as such the action must be promoted for as long as it lasts, and light is the way to achieve this.
When we talk about commercial lighting we immediately think of clothes shops, boutiques or jewellery stores, but now the range of possible uses is wider due to the size and advantages of these products. As a sales tool, light has made significant advances; nowadays the lighting industry offers very high colour rendering technologies that save energy, with products that are easy to handle due to their size and simple installation.
How do commercial lighting upgrades?
To get the most benefit from the lighting in your home, it is necessary to call in specialist commercial electricians who will diagnose and assess the best electrical solutions for your business.
Some of the suggestions and recommendations for commercial lighting upgrades include:
- Analyse the current quantity and quality of light at the point of sale and the optimal need.
- Define the desired lighting strategy for the point of sale, colour, shade, fixture, etc.
- Assess energy consumption on a quarterly and annual basis, for a good analysis and savings.
- Study the weak points of lighting in the establishment to improve them, this will generate more sales.
- Modernize and adapt the lighting to the design trends, tonality, etc. of the market.
- Achieve uniformity of light in the establishment, both in quantity, quality, and chromatic tonality.
- Excessive light in terms of watts of power and consumption are bothersome to the eye and increase costs.
- Lighting is one of the most important elements in the point of sale, it facilitates the location of the products, at the same time as it creates a sensation of comfort and convenience inside the establishment.
- The investment in lighting for the point of sale is not a one-off investment, it must be renewed and adapted to constant needs, both in terms of trends and energy-saving improvements.
- Light is a sensation that is transmitted to the buyer and can change their purchasing mood favourably.
- Install solar panels to save money
Types of commercial lighting
When starting commercial lighting, in addition to establishing the lighting strategy, it is just as important to select the right type of light that is most relevant to the business. The most common lights in commercial design and interior design are as follows:
– Traditional bulbs are in disuse because they entail more maintenance costs due to their shorter average life and because they have a higher electricity bill compared to other options.
– The incandescent halogen bulbs have a halogen gas composition that prolongs their life span. However, like traditional bulbs, they lose a lot of energy in the form of heat. They are not widely marketed.
– Fluorescent lights are one of the widely used alternatives to traditional luminaires. Their advantages are lower consumption and less heat loss. However, they also have major disadvantages: the type of light is too white, – not suitable for a space where a warmer or cosier light is needed – and they have the famous ‘delay’ or waiting time to switch on until maximum light output is achieved.
– Metal Halide is known due to its high power and good colour rendering in addition to ultraviolet light. It is generally used in such things as street lighting, stadium lights or aquarium lights. Its disadvantages are a generally high price and a generally shorter lifetime than other options.
– LED lighting is one of the most recommended options by many technical lighting companies. It has many benefits: not too high a cost, longer average life, lower electricity consumption and they are environmentally friendly. These characteristics make them one of the most demanded and best performing options for commercial lighting.
– Fibre optic lights are another option to consider. They have great advantages, such as their flexibility, their great safety and durability and the fact that they do not emit heat. The main drawback of this type of luminaire is the associated cost, which tends to be a major barrier for many projects today.
The choice of one or the other depends on the type of project. It is not uncommon to find different types of light in the same area for different uses. As an advice, we recommend that you focus on factors such as consumption, performance, functionality in the space, time of switch-on, etc.
Currently, the upgrade of commercial lighting tends to prioritise the use of LED lights given their benefits in terms of energy and bill savings thanks to their low consumption, low heat emission, sharper and brighter light than traditional luminaires, easy installation and replacement, greater resistance to shocks or vibrations, they are environmentally friendly, produce low light pollution, last longer than traditional bulbs, are minimalist and can be customised for each business, their intensity can be regulated and different colour temperatures can be set according to the room or the lighting strategy.
