How to turn a “tired” store into an atmospheric one

In a situation of economic restrictions, not every brand and not every company can free up additional funds in order to launch an active expansion, develop a new concept or carry out large-scale renovations of existing stores. In this article, using the example of just one area of ​​a shoe store, together with Tatyana Kryuchkova, a lighting expert in shoe and fashion retail, we analyze very simple but effective practical techniques that allow you to maintain a fresh and atmospheric look of a fashionable offline store with little investment.

Tatyana Kryuchkova - project manager of the lighting company "Tochka Opory", lighting expert in shoe and fashion retail.

In times of crisis, various strategies can be implemented to maintain the viability of the retail business: actively opening new sites, updating existing stores, focusing on maintaining the appearance of the store during the operation phase. Strategies may be different, but the goal for all retailers is the same - to prevent the degradation of their offline store, which the buyer reads through outdated architectural solutions, worn-out furniture and improperly working lights. The buyer immediately associates such a "tired" space with the failure and stagnation of the brand and rushes to new openings of "fresh" stores and brands - straight into the arms of competitors.

This pattern is especially pronounced in the change in consumer buying habits, if next to the “old” store, on the neighboring site, a new, bright, bright store with the most modern lighting technologies and design solutions rises. Such a contrast encourages a previously loyal customer to bypass a well-known store with an obsolete space. A fresh store of even an unknown brand creates the impression of success, relevance and attractiveness.

How can you breathe new life into an old store and refresh the interior if it is impossible to allocate funds for a complete repair and complete replacement of retail and lighting equipment?

One of the focal areas of any shoe store is racks and shelves. If retail equipment is purchased with shelves that already provide for local lighting, then, most often, this is a ready-made solution implemented by furniture manufacturers, alas, not always successfully.

IMPORTANT! There is no universal solution for local shelf lighting suitable for all stores, since the development of a successful solution depends on many factors (type of furniture, material and color of the shelves, general light, prevailing colors in the interior, etc.).

In order to develop a successful functional solution for local lighting, we formulated the Top 6 universal tips that work in most cases:

1. Unity of color

Furniture lighting should be made in the same color temperature, thus creating a single retail space without visual interference. This advice is relevant both when opening a new store, and at the operational stage.

The combination of "warm" and "cold" light, as in photo-1, creates unnecessary contrast, does not provide any advantages in displaying goods and reduces the cost of the general view of the sales area. This is bad. The correct lighting option is in photo-2, here is uniform and general light.

2. Comfortable light illumination and visual effect

One of the key tasks of furniture lighting is to create a comfortable light atmosphere in the trading floor, which does not distract the buyer from the store's assortment and does not strain the eyes. Since some light sources for illuminating shelves can be located at the level of the buyer's eyes, it is important to eliminate the effect of "glare" - direct hit of bright light on the retina.

Do not forget that the LED strip protruding above the surface of the shelf gives an untidy, outdated look to commercial equipment. Photo-3 just shows the errors: the LED strip is visible, an unnecessary light effect on the sneaker. Photo-4 shows recessed, even lighting that doesn't hit the eye.

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3. Security

Local lighting must comply with all electrical and fire safety, dust and moisture protection standards. It is unacceptable to leave the backlight with open, intermittent sections of conductive elements, as in photos 5 and 6. In this case, the lighting devices will also last longer, and there will be no additional questions from the supervisory authorities.

4. Installation and operation

When designing and installing local shelf lighting, it is important to maintain the integrity of the luminous line.

And during operation, the illumination of the shelves requires special attention. The dashed line, caused by the burn-in of individual light sources, creates an atmosphere of abandonment and slovenliness.

5. Brightness balance

Local lighting should harmoniously fit into the concept of general lighting of the retail space. If the balance of brightness of general and local light is not observed, it will be uncomfortable to be in the trading floor. Yes, the store will turn out bright and eye-catching, but buyers will tend to leave it as soon as possible.

6. Location and shape

We often come across different visual effects of illuminated shelves in stores: whether it is an accent on a product or wall texture, the effect of a “floating” shelf, or a uniform filling of the entire furniture space of the shelves. When creating such effects, it is important to remember that a bright spot of light on any surface attracts attention in the first place. An idea that is not always conceived works to sell the product, but, on the contrary, distracts attention or makes the product inconspicuous. Therefore, when using local illumination, it is important to consider the location and angle of light distribution of the light source in order to achieve the desired impression and not get the effect of the opposite.

We often come across different visual effects of illuminated shelves in stores: whether it is an accent on a product or wall texture, the effect of a “floating” shelf, or a uniform filling of the entire furniture space of the shelves. When creating such effects, it is important to remember that a bright spot of light on any surface attracts attention in the first place. An idea that is not always conceived works to sell the product, but, on the contrary, distracts attention or makes the product inconspicuous. Therefore, when using local illumination, it is important to consider the location and angle of light distribution of the light source in order to achieve the desired impression and not get the effect of the opposite.