Most of us have read or heard news reports about online shopping taking over brick-and-mortar retail stores. However, the truth is that in 2017, American shoppers still spent five dollars in physical stores for every one dollar they spent online.
With recent reforms in taxes and economic indicators remaining upbeat, the National Retail Federation has had to rethink its forecast for this year’s holiday shopping totals. Its previous retail sales prediction for the 2018 holiday season — not including car, gasoline and restaurant spending — stipulated a 3.8 to 4.4 percent increase, but now that number is expected to rise to at least 4.5 percent.
Of course, for retailers, this news is welcome. However, it also means that to properly take advantage of this predicted spike in sales, the work to improve holiday shopping experiences for all potential customers is now in full swing. Stores are enhancing their shelves, stock and overall retail spaces with well-thought-out lighting schemes and holiday lighting displays in order to attract more customers and keep them in stores shopping for longer periods.
When a retailer can encourage a customer with cash to remain shopping in its store for any extended period of time, the likelihood of a sale increases. Since much of the shopping experience depends on what we see and how we see it, the fact is that to successfully personalize shopper marketing, you need to give your store’s lighting scheme some serious thought.
First, let’s stop for a moment to think of the opposite of a well-lit store. When aisles, shelves and corners are dark or poorly lit, shoppers feel discouraged, downbeat and far less likely to buy — especially when shopping for gifts that they envision brightening loved ones’ moods.
Now, consider how lighting can open up spaces and invite shoppers to connect with displays and explore the items on the shelves. With the correct use of LEDs, retailers can adjust their lighting by area to help draw attention to sales displays and high-ticket items. They can even supply a high-traffic area with a warm atmosphere!
Creating a festive mood in your store is simply good business in the run-up to the holidays. A great way to do so is with the use of backlighting. Instead of only front-lighting products or displays which can often flatten the display, backlighting can highlight large areas like entire shelves and displays and add some depth to the display. This is also a perfect opportunity to add color highlights to the display and suggest a time of day or a desired emotion.
The results of the proper use of soft backlighting allow shoppers to look in more places, on more shelves and at more displays so that they feel truly welcomed and invited to shop for as long as necessary to find that perfect gift — a win-win situation for retailers and shoppers alike.
As a professional audio, visual and lighting (AVL) company, Illuminated Integration supplies retailers with full-service design/build lighting solutions that employ our more than two decades of in-house creativity. From the importance of color in lighting to the selection of the types of lighting to enhance any store, we deliver tailored lighting solutions that perform.
Fill out our contact form now to learn how Illuminated Integration can make this holiday season extra festive for you and your customers.
