Retail Lighting: Raising the Bar

Retailers want superb store lighting that stands out and attracts shoppers –their first impression is very much influenced by how the lighting looks. But of course, lighting experts know that high quality light is the result of a great deal of technical expertize behind the scenes. And in lighting design, looks aren’t everything: comfort is also a factor, with appropriately tuned and visually comfortable lighting creating places where shoppers love to spend time. At Signify, we believe quality of light and quality of life go hand in hand – and we’re working hard to set a high bar with a standards-based approach to help you minimize the undesired effects of LED lighting and make results-driven lighting possible for retailers everywhere.

Quality of light

Today’s retail brands are founded on destination stores that define the shopper experience, even for online shoppers. With the explosion in LED lighting technologies, brands can express their brand identity in exciting new ways. It’s all about using the best lighting solution to create a unique store experience that attracts shoppers and keeps them in store. We’ve always been at the forefront of lighting innovation to enable stunning new effects and experiences and we have the industry’s leading lighting portfolio, renowned for its quality.

But today’s concept of quality of light expands beyond aesthetic effects, reaching into the very properties of products themselves, as it’s now possible to use light more scientifically to heighten product appeal. We can tune the light spectrum in a very targeted way to bring out the best in different environments – for example, fashion, car showrooms, electronics stores and supermarkets. Philips Fortimo LED systems have set a new bar for quality here, giving retailers and lighting professionals a spectacular palette for retail displays all on a single platform.

Fortimo SLM LED systems offer the full range of standard color temperatures, plus tailor made solutions for specific lighting applications, such as CrispWhite for fashion retail, PremiumWhite and Premium Color for all retail applications and Food PremiumRed and Food WarmWhite for food retail. Tuned for each display, Fortimo reveals rich colors, crisp whites and deep blacks while highlighting textures and finishes. By making products appear more enticing, Fortimo SLM can increase the perceived value of goods on display and stimulate buying behaviors.

There are other important benefits too. Because the optimized spectra of Fortimo SLM doesn’t make much of a dent in energy efficiency, stores can still control their energy footprint while choosing for the best quality of light. Luminaire design and manufacturing is simple with a standardized form factor and interface providing plenty of flexibility and head room for the future. To remove complexity further, OEMs can use one luminaire design for all the different spectra’s we offer. This technical leadership has rapidly made Fortimo LED systems the market leading technology for retail applications.

Quality of life

We’ve seen how lighting can influence how shoppers feel in store, motivating them to stay and shop. It can also make them want to leave. It’s well known in the industry that modulating luminous output can cause negative changes in visual perception called Temporary Light Artefacts (TLAs), which include flicker and stroboscopic effects. Even when TLAs are not consciously perceived, they can make shoppers uncomfortable. At worse, they can reduce human performance and cause visual fatigue, epileptic seizures, headaches and migraine episodes. Today we recognize that quality of light isn’t just about making stores and products look amazing, it’s about enhancing quality of life by mitigating these undesired effects wherever possible.

Fixing TLAs

As the LED revolution marches on, the lighting industry has come to understand TLAs better. Together, we’ve drawn up new national and international recommendations to guide lighting manufacturers and professionals in defining, measuring and limiting the effects of TLAs. They’re designed to help you create high quality lighting solutions for your customers.

We are pleased to have played a leading role in developing these important new metrics, which are proposed to be used as the basis for future TLA standards and regulation. As soon as standards are defined, we’ll be ready to supply products to you as updates have already been implemented across our product range. This will give you the competitive edge when it comes to speed to market and quality.

We’ve already made important steps forward to support you, including calibrating our design process to minimize TLAs in our drivers and systems. This means you can already expect optimal TLA performance across our businesses and product portfolios. When you use them to manufacture your own products or in designing lighting installations, you’re instantly setting your own high bar for quality.

Quality matters

We believe that quality of light and quality of life are equally important. We want our products to help lighting industry partners surprise, delight and convert shoppers in any retail environment – all while putting human comfort and wellbeing first. By applying the new TLA metrics, we’re off to a good start. And as LED technology continues to evolve, we’re committed to working closely with lighting industry groups to make sure that we set the bar still higher, with specifications for quality of light that also promote quality of life.

What do you think?

Questions, feedback or ideas? We’d love to hear them in the comments.

http://www.lighting.philips.co.uk/oem-emea

Featured by Signify