The importance of lighting
Lighting has many purposes with respect to retail store design. The store must be adequately lit for safety and ease of shopping, as lighting can be used to draw emphasis to specific products or sales specials.
Lighting is a key part of emotional showroom design and should be specific to each area. The use of low-voltage lighting and hot spots augment overall showroom lighting, while halogens and incandescent-style lights can be used to enhance the warmth of a room. Using lights to create shadows and textures can also add ambiance and character to a showroom.
Different lighting schemes should also be attempted to see how customers react; sometimes lighting schemes differ between daytime and nighttime shopping.
Another idea is to use outdoor style lighting (e.g. Malibu lighting) to create ambience and accent the vignette. This not only adds light to the showroom but a lifestyle-relevant product that can be sold with the other items displayed in the vignette.
Designing showrooms for the senses
Attention to sensory design is another important part of a successful showroom. Once achieved, the overall effect creates a strong uniform message that connects with the consumer. For example, people retain 80 per cent of information when they can see, hear and touch something but only 23 per cent when they only see it. This information underscores the importance of engaging all of the customers’ senses.
The overall feeling of a showroom can be influenced by using a simple understanding of the senses. Creating an emotional reaction in a store can be as easy as making someone think ‘that smells good’ or ‘I know that song.’ Positive emotions are engaged through sensory merchandising, which can create great results.
Sight
A showroom should always be neat and clean and appear well-maintained. Remember, sight is the most obvious sense. The human eye takes in everything quickly and provides a summary of the overall space. This is why it is important to use colours to accentuate specific products and establish the mood for the showroom. Colours and textures will guide customers to areas the retailer wants them to focus on, such as specials or promotions. Do not be afraid to change up the showroom every now and then to keep the space feeling fresh and new.
Smell
Smell is the strongest sense tied to memory. In this case, it would be appropriate for a showroom to have flowers and plants to help create the feeling of the outdoors. The fresh feeling live plants give to an outdoor room is powerful, not to mention the natural fragrance of flowers, which can be enhanced by the use of candles and/or other media.
It is important not to go overboard; however, as overpowering the consumer’s sense of smell can drive them out of the store.
