How Small Lighting Details Create Huge Benefits for Grocers

At its best, grocery lighting needs to increase energy efficiency, enhance visuals of food, and improve the safety and cleanliness of the store. Lighting on the inside and outside of a grocery store isn’t something you typically are aware of as you shop. You may notice the redness of the tomatoes, freshness of the baguettes inside the display cases or how legible the wording is on all the product labels. But the behind-the-scenes LED lighting fixtures, controls and sensors that are hard at work to create a pleasant shopping experience likely go unnoticed.

Ready to find out how grocers can enhance their stores with, and reap the rewards of, the right LED lighting and controls solutions? Watch this informative webinar as it takes you through every section of a grocery store, illustrating how improved lighting can help create a more vibrant and lucrative business. Or keep reading for a preview of what better lighting looks like in each section of a store.

09:13—The Exterior of the Store

It’s important to choose a signage lighting product that will help elevate a store’s brand and serve as a beacon to entice customers to shop. Superb lighting helps to create a more secure and welcoming environment as it sets the tone of the store and informs customer expectations. Additionally, providing an added layer of illumination for a journey through the parking lot can allow the car and foot traffic of customers to flow more safely and efficiently.

14:28—Store Entrance and Carts

Deliver on the promise of the store’s bright and inviting exterior by welcoming shoppers in with an aesthetically pleasing entrance. Interior lighting should be bright enough to remain inviting, but not be overwhelming.

The level of cleanliness in a store is more important and valued than ever before. Disinfection lighting that leverages UVA technology can be used to provide continuous disinfection of bacteria found on the surfaces of carts and baskets, while complementary UVC solutions can help inactivate airborne viruses in the occupied spaces around the store’s entrance.

19:06—Produce, Deli and Bakery Areas

Colors are often indicators of freshness, so the richer the reds and deeper the greens are, the better. When meat and produce is fresh and out in the open, lighting that makes it look its best is key.

LED lighting solutions like TriGain^® technology make packaging and produce more eye-catching thanks to improved color rendering technology. As a result, colors, such as the bright reds of strawberries and cherries, become more vivid. Additionally, lighting that helps illuminate the entire shelf ensures a customer’s favorite box of cookies doesn’t get hidden by a shadow caused by poor lighting.

22:53—Refrigerated Case Aisles

Great refrigerator lighting strikes a healthy balance of energy efficiency and high-quality lighting that creates fewer hot spots and less glare on packaging, encouraging customers to open the doors. Like in the produce and deli aisles, having lighting that creates more vibrant colors is just as important in refrigerator cases because it makes the products more visually appealing.

The right refrigerated display lighting can increase energy efficiency by 77%, provide superior color rendering and bathe the products in a vibrant, even light. Compared to traditional florescent tubes, these LED light bars have a significantly longer lifetime and are NSF certified containing no glass or mercury, making them safer for employees, customers and food items alike.

27:13—Restrooms

Lighting and disinfection technology solutions can provide energy-efficient illumination while also reducing viruses in the air and on surfaces. Over the sinks and stalls, LED lighting can deliver uniform light distribution and modern aesthetics while utilizing occupancy sensing capabilities to save grocers on energy costs when the restrooms are not in use.

29:48—Warehouse, Storage and Receiving Docks

Backend facility managers need to take every precaution to prevent accidents from occurring due to poor lighting. That means illuminating aisles from top to bottom and creating a uniform appearance that has no dark spots. In areas where heavy machinery is used to store products, increased visibility is of the upmost importance for drivers turning tight corners and lifting heavy cargo. The right lighting and controls play a big role in increasing worker safety, particularly at night, which enables faster turnaround times and more precise inventory control.

34:35—Office Spaces

Existing office areas can receive an energy-efficient LED upgrade. Easily installed LED lighting provides a clean look that employees may find more inviting and conducive to the task at hand. Controls provide additional savings: When managers and supervisors need to leave their offices for their daily tasks throughout the store, they can rest assured that occupancy sensors will dim or turn off lights when the room is not in use.

14:28—The Checkout Counter

Near the exit of the store are the cash registers. With subpar lighting, product barcodes are harder to scan, prolonging the checkout process as long lines start to form. LED fixtures can help facilitate more accurate transactions as they emphasize the details of food packaging and help customers navigate more efficiently. Whether noticeable or not, LED lighting and controls are some of the most important marketing tools for a grocer. Improving lighting within stores can help boost the bottom line of sales, and the implementation of energy-efficient LEDs and intuitive lighting controls can also help grocers save money on utility bills and maintenance.

Want to dive deeper into the possibilities hidden within your grocery store? Watch our on-demand Food for Thought webinar to learn more.