Retailers and brands are discovering what shelf lighting and display lighting can achieve
Used strategically, retail shelf lighting and LED display lighting has the power to invite and communicate by drawing customers in, capturing their attention, encouraging them to linger longer at product displays, and moving them to buy more — and more frequently. Our shelf lighting and display lighting is proven to drive more sales.
The research is in
Every major study on the impact of retail shelf lighting and display lighting has arrived at the same conclusion. Better lighting translates into better sales. In our own studies our solutions have increased both unit and dollar sales. Those are the kind of numbers that have retailers around the country taking a much closer look at Lighting for Impact.
| Performance of Illuminated Sections | |
| Dollar Sales | +43.7% |
| Unit Sales | +37.1% |
| Shopper Conversion | +32% |
| Return on investment Year 1 | 5.8 |
| Days to pay off investment Year 1 | 54 |
| Performance of Sections Non-Illuminated | |
| Unit sales change | +3.1% |
| Shopper Conversion | -1.4% |
| Dollar Sales | +14.0% |
| Sections Illuminated: Candy bars, candy bags, breakfast, and spirits. Sections Non-Illuminated: Meat snacks, Frito Lay, seeds, cookies, and nuts. Performance comparison: Q3 2021 vs. Q3 2022. Customer traffic change +3.9%. | |
Lighting improves the shopper experience in ways everyone can see.
Display lighting helps capture shopper attention, sets a mood, and makes merchandise more appealing — improving overall store presentation and the in-store environment. In a recent study, 92% of shoppers reported “a better overall shopping experience” in stores with lighting at checkout — an increase of 13.5% over stores without lighting. More than 50% of shoppers noticed the lighting and reported it was “easier to find items I want, easier to see what’s available, draws my attention, and makes merchandising look nice.”
Lighting improves shoppers’ perception of store appearance and value, and can help increase shopper loyalty.
In retail, the only thing as important as today’s sales — is tomorrow’s. LED lighting has been shown to improve shopper perceptions of both overall store appearance and a retailer’s overall pricing/value. This, combined with lighting’s ability to deliver a unique shopping experience, can help keep shoppers coming back.
Client Testimonials
“Providing our customers, a great experience at checkout is mission-critical at Food Lion. We decided to install LED lighting on our checkout fixtures in 2015 and have done so ever since. We simply put, the LED lighting “brightens our shopper’s experience and lifted sales”. Recently we illuminated our new Grab and Go area near the checkouts with LED lighting. That too was a big success. LED lighting is a cost-effective way to drive home our point of difference in our stores.”
— Glenn G.
Center Store Merchandising & Planner Manager – Food Lion Inc.
“At Coborn’s, we empower employee owners to create unique shopping experiences, anticipate needs and exceed expectations for our guests. Checkout can be an area of frustration for our shoppers, thus a focus area for us. We added healthier options and illuminated the checkout area with LED lighting.
The impact of lighting at checkout was and continues to be amazing, both in terms of guest experience and the lift in sales we continue to enjoy.”
— Andy Knoblauch
Sr. Vice President – Sales and Marketing – Coburn’s Inc.
“We are very pleased with the results of our new checkout program to date. LED lighting on the new displays has enhanced product visibility and improved the overall checkout experience. Our strongest growth has been with confections and snacks.”
— Scott Willis
Director of Procurement and Merchandising – Brookshire Brothers
“We installed new checkout fixtures with LED lighting in May of 2019. The lighting has created a better shopping experience by making the product packaging “pop” and easier for shoppers to find what they are looking for. In addition, the sales impact has been extremely positive. Now we are in the process of developing a similar solution for our self-checkout environments.”
— Regina Hemmele
Category Manager – Bashas’
“Checkout is an important aspect of our business; at DeCA we want our customers to have a great experience when checking out. The new checkouts look great, especially the way product is illuminated with LED lighting. Before installing lighting, we tested the concept to ensure our customers liked the experience and the product did not melt from the lights. We are very excited about our new checkouts and expect the sales lift will be substantial.”
— LaRue Smith
Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) Category Manager, Baby, Health and Beauty Care, CPCM, Front End
“Army and Air Force Exchange Services operates 3100 retail locations world-wide serving our men and women in uniform. Our goal was to create an exceptional experience for our customers at checkout. We decided to install LED lighting on our new check stand fixtures. Lighting made a big difference in our stores with positive customers comments. Best of all sales increased from day one and continue higher when compared to our previously non-lighted display fixtures.”
— David Arens
Division Merchandise Manager — Army and Air Force Exchange Services
“At Food City, checkout is a must shine area of the store to fulfill our mission and be the best store in town. We identified a sales gap opportunity at checkout and knew our merchandising could be more productive.
After considerable analysis, we decided to roll out a new checkout merchandising program with LED lighting. The results have been nothing short of amazing. Shoppers love the look, and we love the sales increases. Once lighting was installed, sales surged by double digits and after a downturn from COVID, fewer shopping trips, and larger baskets, sales have now returned to growth.
Our current project is the expansion and rollout of self-checkout and we recognize that merchandising is equally critical at self-checkout. In our new self-checkout set, displays are illuminated with LED lighting. Lighting has been a big success for Food City at checkout and now featured sections are illuminated throughout our stores.”
