Though lighting is vital to productivity, in a retail or warehouse setting it is often overlooked. Adequate lighting is integral to preserving your bottom line and keeping your entire operation running smoothly and efficiently from the warehouse to the sales floor.
If your warehouse staff have trouble accurately reading order numbers you run the risk of having your valuable merchandise misplaced when it is put away. Your cashiers are also more likely to enter SKUs or prices incorrectly if they aren’t able to clearly read labels leading to decreasing profits. You may even see an increase in returned items as customers have trouble properly distinguishing colours and reading labels. This means they may be dissatisfied with their product once they take it home because it looks different than it did in the store or they can finally read the fine print and realize that they picked the wrong item. Even if they do choose to keep the item, they are now dissatisfied with their shopping experience at your store and may not return again.
To help combat all of these problems, business owners need to stop taking lighting for granted and start seeing it as an ally and worthwhile investment.
Facts About Brightness
Where do your employees need adequate lighting? Everywhere. You need bright task-oriented lighting at the tills so that employees can properly input numbers so that your customers are charged the correct prices. In the stockroom employees need to be able to quickly identify numbers, take stock efficiently, and find items for customers in a timely fashion. They also need to be able to return items to their proper places in the stockroom so that the entire place remains organized. An under lit stockroom means customers spend longer waiting for items while employees struggle to find them. The isles and product displays also need to be brightly lit so that customers and employees alike can accurately identify items. Employees also need to be able to quickly determine if a product needs to be restocked, or if shelves or aisles need to be cleaned or tidied.
Lighting also affects customers and employees psychologically. Brightly lit areas look clean and welcoming while dim areas look dirty and unkept. Dim lighting also makes humans sleepy, reducing employee productivity and making it difficult for to engage customers.
Lighting and Sales
Lighting is important for increasing profits, and reducing expenses. Though most retailers are savvy when it comes to sales they often overlook the role lighting plays. There are several ways lighting directly affects sales:
- Customer Support: Your customers need to be able to properly see the products they are considering buying. Whether your store is upscale or discount orientated, the level and type of lighting affects how customers view your products both actually and psychologically. Customers who are not able to accurately assess products are more likely to be dissatisfied with the items once they bring them home.
- Effective Displays: No matter how eye catching and awe inspiring your displays are, your customers won’t experience the whole effect if the display is poorly lit. Proper lighting allows your displays to serve their function and draw customers towards key products.
- Product Appearance: Products that sparkle or have a highly polished finish need proper lighting in order to wow customers. Products that shine and sparkle are viewed as desirable and valuable, and adequate lighting is integral to showing off products properly.
- Impulse purchases: Impulse purchases can be a huge source of income for some retailers. However, customers only really respond to these displays if they can properly see the items. Lighting that highlights both the product and its associated signage is integral to capturing customer attention.
Choosing the Right Lighting
What sort of lighting you choose will depend on what your space is like and what activities go on there. Stockrooms and tills need bright, no nonsense lighting to improve efficiency. Sales floors should also be well lit, but often incorporate other lighting solutions to highlight products or create a specific mood. Chandeliers and other highly decorative lighting fixtures are also often employed, though their purpose is to provide ambiance more than lighting. If you are unsure how to properly light your space you should consider consulting with a lighting expert like the ones at Fluorescent Man Lighting.
For more information on properly using lighting in a retail setting, or to request a quote, contact Fluorescent Man Lighting today at 403.863.8529 and visit fluorescentmanlighting.com.
