How Lighting Influences Consumers

There is no denying the overwhelming relationship between lighting and humans. From sleep disturbances caused by a lack of light to improved mental states from increased exposure to lighting, humans are especially susceptible to the lighting all around them throughout the course of their lives. When it comes to retail and commercial spaces, lighting has proven to be an especially useful tool. Let’s take a closer look at how lighting influences consumers and ways to use this information to the advantage of your business.

When looking at how lighting influences consumers, we should first look at the science side of this relationship. Since it is estimated that 80% of all sensory stimulation comes from eyesight over the other senses, it makes sense that lighting is so important. In fact, according to a study covered in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the brighter the lighting participants were exposed to, the more intense their feelings became on test questions. There was also a direct correlation between improved moods and brighter lights.

So, how does this affect consumers? It has been correlated that the right lighting, similar to that in the previously mentioned study, can increase the decision to purchase. This can be because of impulse buy mentality since the brighter light improves feelings of hope and well-being, which could encourage a splurge purchase. It can also be related to the fact that brighter lights intensify feelings and aid in decision making. Since retail shopping is essentially using the relationship between the eyes and cortex to reach a decision, it is no wonder lighting plays a role in this process.

Another aspect of how lighting influences consumers rests in the products being highlighted. Since there are certain purchases that are more emotionally charged, such as engagement rings or other purchases tied to significant sentimental value, it makes sense that choosing lighting known to increase emotional intensity is a sales tactic. Bright lights are also better for highlighting products in a retail setting because, in addition to playing a part in the mood of the consumers, bright lights also make the product seem more attractive in appearance.

Tips For Your Location

Of course, all this information is only useful to you if you can put it into practice to benefit your business. Here are 3 tips on making this aspect of consumer lighting work for your business.

1. Choose bright lights.

The lights highlighting products should be of a high lumen concentration. A good rule of thumb is for products placed on a table or shelving unit, aim for around 30 lumens whereas a floor display needs around 50 lumens.

2. Opt for cooler temperatures.

The color temperature is closely related to what most people perceive as “brightness”. While they are two different elements, consumers will still prefer a cooler temperature with a white coloring to be brighter and better-lit than a comparative warm temperature with the same lumen output. Part of this has to do with color rendering which helps to highlight the products better. For this aspect of retail lighting, aim for around 4500-5000K on the temperature scale for a white hue with just a small touch of blue, depending on the solution.

3. Vary the lighting throughout the space.

While bright lighting in a cool temperature is ideal for encouraging consumers to purchase by relaxing their mood and decision-making processes, it is a good idea to use this type of lighting directly on the products with warmer temperatures or lower lumen outputs in other areas such as doorways and walkways. This will not only help highlight the concentrated lighting effects on the products, but it will also help to create comfortable layers of lighting for a well-rounded shopping experience for consumers.

Sources

https://media.utoronto.ca/media-releases/education/new-research-shows-the-way-a-room...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/light-emotions_n_4831224