How Lighting Affects a Retail Store’s Mood and Atmosphere

Lighting is a critical element in all retail stores and businesses. It provides a source of illumination, lighting up the surrounding area so that shoppers can see the products, visual merchandising displays, signs and other material. However, it’s a little-known fact that lighting also affects a store’s mood and overall atmosphere. To learn more about the way in which lighting affects mood, and how store owners such as yourself can use this to their advantage, keep reading.

Bright lighting has been associated with energy, positivity and honesty, often having a positive impact on a store’s sales. According to Wikipedia, bright lighting triggers a higher level of engagement among customers, speeding up “the pace at which customers purchase products.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should always use bright lighting throughout every area of your store, however. If customers shop too fast, they may overlook some of your store’s products; thus, purchasing fewer products that they would if they shopped at a slower pace. This is why it’s important for store owners to use balanced lighting throughout their store, finding a delicate balance that’s not too bright not too dim.

Even dim lighting has its place in the retail world. When lighting is dim, consequently, it slows down the pace at which customers shop. Furthermore, dim instills a sense of calmness and relaxation, setting the tone for your store.

Of course, lighting can also be used to draw attention to a particular product or area of your store. If you recently added a new product to your store’s lineup, for instance, you may want to draw shoppers’ attention to it, in which case lighting can be used. Track lighting, when affixed in the direction of the new product, will naturally increase its visibility, which should subsequently have a positive impact on sales.

So, should you use bright or dim lighting throughout your store? It really depends on your store’s product lineup, target market, time of day, and other factors. If you look at some of the nation’s leading retail stores, you’ll notice that many of them use both techniques. Bright lighting may be used around visual merchandising displays and in-store products during the day, whereas dim lighting is used throughout the rest of the store and during the evenings.

If you have any questions at all about visual merchandising, please give us a call at 800.241.6897 or email us at /contact-us/.