Page 245 - DMGT552_VISUAL_MERCHANDISING

Visual Merchandising

Notes Lighting Tips for Specific Merchandise

The various lighting tips for specific merchandise are:
1. Use large-area lighting fixtures plus incandescent down lighting to avoid heavy shadows
when displaying major appliances and furniture.

2. Use general diffuse or overall lighting, accented with point-type spotlights to emphasise
the beauty of china, glass, home accessories, and giftware.
3. Bring out the sparkle and lustre of hardware, toys, auto accessories, highly polished
silver, and other metal ware by using a blend of general light and concentrated light
sources spotlights.

4. Use concentrated beams of high-brightness incandescent sources to add brilliant highlights
to jewellery, gold and silver, or cut glass.
5. Highlight the colours, patterns and textures of rugs, carpets, upholstery, heavy drapes,
and bedspreads by using oblique directional lighting plus general low-intensity overhead
lighting.

12.6.4 Lighting Issues

As a retail store manager should keep the following issues in mind when selecting lighting for
your retail store:
1. High “Colour-rendering” Lamps should be used: Whether selecting lighting for a grocery
store or a department store, it is important for your contractor to choose lamps (light
bulbs) that make colours appear as “natural” as possible. The measure to look for when
selecting lamps that will render colours accurately is CRI (colour rendering index). This is
found on a lamp’s packaging or in the manufacturer’s catalogue. CRI of lamps range from
a low of 1 to high of 100. In retail lighting, your contractor should select lamps with a CRI
of 80 or above. There are standard and halogen incandescent, fluorescent, and metal halide
lamps that meet this CRI value.
2. Lighting Fixtures should Limit Glare: For customers to comfortably examine merchandise
and sales people to work without eye strain, your contractor should choose lighting
fixtures carefully and install them properly. For a store’s “general lighting,” fixtures
should be chosen that limit the shoppers’ view of the lamp itself, such as louvers, baffles,
and lenses. This cuts down on the glare (uncomfortable brightness) of these fixtures. For
“accent lighting,” lighting aimed directly at merchandise, lamps with “narrow” beams
(often called “spot” lights) should be selected as well as fixtures in which the lamp is
recessed or set-back from the fixture’s opening. Also, your contractor should make sure
this lighting is not aimed directly toward aisles or doorways where they could shine
directly into shoppers’ eyes.

3. Light should be Distributed where it is needed: Many types of merchandise in a store are
displayed vertically (hanging or on shelves). It is important for your contractor to select
fixtures that will properly provide lighting on vertical surfaces. This can be done by using
adjustable fixtures that can be aimed toward shelves or vertical displays, selecting ceiling-
mounted fixtures that are designed to direct some light to the sides rather then directly
down, or by incorporating lighting into display cases or shelving units. It is also important
to make sure that the general areas in the store where people need to walk and move
through displays are evenly lighted and appear bright to customers. Your contractor
should make sure that the general lighting fixtures are installed in accordance with the
manufacturer’s “spacing criteria.”

240 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY