lol. lots of light

This time of year the days are shorter. 

We feel more tired. 

Our plants get droopy. 

Because not so much ‘lots of light.’

How do you winterproof your retail space so it always has that fresh, bouncy spring vibe that gets your customers excited to shop and instantly improves the mood?

Lots of Light. 

Here’s a little crash class on how we max the lighting in retail, what you need to know before ordering and a few of our go-to faves. 

Three types

When you’ve got a retail dispensary with no natural light and are open until 10pm, you’ve got to be thinking about lighting. How poor lighting affects your sales, employees and customers. That’s general lighting. 

Or when you notice you’ve got people pulling out their phone lights to read the info cards or your employees are holding things up higher to read an ID. That’s  task lighting problem. 

Maybe your entryway vestibule  has adequate lighting from the recessed cans, but it looks stark and unwelcoming. That’s a decorative lighting deficiency. 

Temperature

If you’ve bought lighting before, you may have come across color temperature info in the specs. This sounds like just too much info, BUT it’s actually really important. If you’ve ever bought clothing in a store and got it home, or outside, and the color seemed jacked up, that’s because the color temp in the store wasn’t natural. Your salad look gray? Color temp.

Lighting experts know that color temperature is just as important as output wattage. They select the right bulb or fixture for the job taking into consideration the color temps and what it will do to the main event. Food, cannabis, sweaters or jewelry. Different color temps will make all of those things read differently, so it’s important. You might not notice it when it’s perfect, but you’ll definitely notice it when it’s bad. 

(Light quality is just as important as quantity)

Color temperature (expressed in degrees Kelvin, e.g. 6500K) is a convenient way to group lighting into similar color families.  The lower the color temperature of the light source, the warmer or redder the source will be. The higher the color temperature, the cooler or bluer it will be.

The optimal color temperature for retail showroom spaces is between 2700-4000k. 

This goes for everything from in case strip lighting to general can lights in the showroom. 

In specialty areas like the vault and fulfillment, I like a slightly cooler color temp at 5000k.

Break rooms, offices and more relaxing spaces like client consultation areas can be a touch warmer, 2500-2700k. This gives a slightly more chill feeling to the room. Again, this is the actual color of the light, not the amount. 

Budget busters

Lighting can add up fast if you’re not paying attention and accurately counting. Strategic placement of lights can highlight key areas, creating a visually exciting atmosphere. You need energy efficient general lighting, but you’re also going to want accent lights. And task lighting that highlights your products. Light fixtures are not unicorns. Nearly every designer fixture will have a comparable, same look less pricey cousin out there. Go for the knockoffs as long as they are US rated safe, have the right wattage and reasonable shipping times. Don’t forget, you also need to think about installation and shipping costs in addition to bulbs, 

Great lighting enhances the space, makes your product POP and acts as jewelry for you space. You can enhance architectural millwork or details, add interest to the baseboards of your checkout counter or make your ID check moody and engaging. You can literally steer your customers through your showroom by using lighting. 

Click here to see our faves. (heads up, we like quirky stuff)

Here are the checkboxes for you to get it right

• What type of fixture is needed? General/Task or Decorative?
• Does the style of fixture accentuate my space or detract? 
• Will I spend hours cleaning this or changing bulbs?
• The optimal color temperature for retail showroom spaces is between 2700-4000k. 
• Am I blowing the budget with this fixture? Is it going to add to the design or distract? 
• Does this look like something I could buy on a generic builders website OR does it look like something that evokes a strong WOW/LOVE/HELLYAH?