Connected Lighting Provides a Competitive Advantage in Retail

In recent years, the growth of online shopping and a hybrid approach of buy-online-and-pick-up-in-store has affected the retail market. Customers have been choosing these options due to convenience, a broader selection of inventory, and less in-store time being required. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted advantages of online shopping and further increased its adoption. According to one poll, 69% of respondents said they used grocery delivery or pickup for the first time since the start of the pandemic. These shifts have created many challenges for the retail segment, especially brick-and-mortar retailers that have had to adapt quickly to handle the increase of purchases combined with the need for pickup and delivery options.

Shifting Trends Force Retailers to Adapt 

Spurred by the pandemic, shifting customer expectations such as a more personalized shopping experience have driven retailers to improve their omnichannel shopping experience through digitalized solutions, incorporating key features of both online and in-store shopping. Retailers understand the need for greater insights and analytics into in-store buying behavior that are more readily available with online platforms. Beyond shifting customer expectations, retailers are faced with rising electricity costs, which has led to prioritizing energy efficient technology such as LEDs and lighting controls. Their priorities to reduce operating costs to improve budgets are also tied with a shift to address customer sentiments over corporate environmental concerns. The deployment of energy efficient technologies such as LED lighting and lighting controls provides a foundation for reduced energy use and the infrastructure for a multitude of non-energy benefits for retailers and their customers.

Connected Lighting Solutions Allow Retailers to Address Pain Points 

Retailers can use lighting systems to provide a more experiential and personalized experience with omnichannel shopping; reach sustainability goals; and achieve operational excellence through energy savings, staff efficiency, and improved store maintenance. Retailers have massively adopted LED lighting and environmentally friendly refrigerators and are increasingly adopting self-checkout solutions and electronic shelf labels. Lighting controls have evolved, enabling new levels of energy savings, ambience creation, and operational efficiency through advanced scene setting, sensor automation, and remote monitoring and lighting management. 

Adoption of indoor positioning systems (IPSs) utilizing lighting solutions has grown in recent years across many verticals, with retail seeing especially strong growth due to the benefits and use cases available within this sector. Although location-based services and mapping via GPS are commonplace in the outdoor environment, this functionality has not always been available indoors. IPSs can provide value to facility owners, managers, and corporations, as well as shoppers and employees in a retail store. A recent white paper authored by Guidehouse Insights and commissioned by Signify digs deeper into key retail trends and how connected lighting solutions allow retailers to address their pain points. It also includes case studies as real-world examples of how these solutions have affected retailers and provides recommendations for key industry stakeholders.