Lighting

The purpose of lighting is to highlight the products you sell. High-quality lighting can boost a product’s colors and contrast, showcasing the surface and textures of items like floor mats, wheels, hats and clothing. Lighting can also create a specific mood in your store that makes customers feel comfortable, which in turn can encourage them to stay longer.

Some lighting basics:

• Avoid spot lighting from directly above a display, it will cast distracting shadows
• Fine-tune the lighting anytime you change products in a spotlit display
• Replace burned out bulbs
• Lighting shouldn’t face the entrance of your store because it could shine directly in customers’ eyes as they walk in
• For overall ambient lighting, 50 to 75 watt PAR30 flood lights are recommended
• For spot lights, use 35 to 50 watt MR16 bulbs
• Led lights are an excellent choice for your TPC, they are energy efficient and can provide a cool white light for a modern bright space or warm white for a more natural, residential feel

Since humans are naturally drawn to light, lighting can be used strategically throughout your TPC to draw attention to your store, focus on a special or sale item, or direct the flow of traffic.

Let’s look at the different types of lighting and the best way to put them to use:

Canned Lighting is the recessed lighting tucked up into the ceiling. When strategically placed and filled with a high-watt bulb, canned lights can also be used as spots for cashier stations or to focus on product displays.

Track Lighting is a row of bracketed lights affixed to rails mounted on the ceiling. The brackets allow the lights to swivel around and pivot back and forth, allowing the light to be directed anywhere. These can be used as general lighting, spot lighting or perimeter lighting.

Under Counter Display Lighting is lighting in glass cabinet displays and under some wall mounted, stacked shelving. It helps to illuminate products that are in the shadow of the counter or shelf above.