SHEDDING LIGHT ON AN AGE-OLD RETAIL QUESTION:
HOW TO GET CUSTOMERS IN THE DOOR - AND KEEP THEM THERE
New Study Points to Dynamic Lighting as an Effective Strategy in the Competition for Today's Retail Customers
CHICAGO - GLOBALSHOP 2001 - March 22, 2001 - In today's digital age, traditional "bricks and mortar" retailers are encountering competition for customers from some unlikely sources, including the Internet and television shopping channels, as well as the new crop of specialty retailers and "super" stores. For this reason, it has become increasingly important for retail outlets to differentiate and set themselves apart from the competition. Now, a study commissioned by a high-end specialty retailer and Color Kinetics, the Boston-based pioneer of full spectrum digital lighting, sheds new light on how retailers can get customers into their stores and keep them there longer: Dynamic lighting of storefronts.
Color Kinetics partnered with a high-end specialty retail chain to study the effects of the chain's store design on customer behavior, and came up with stunning insight and strategies retailers can take to get customers into their stores, and keep them there longer. This year-long study compared customer behavior at the chain's prototype store redesign, which significantly incorporates Color Kinetics full spectrum digital lighting to light displays at the storefront, to customer behavior at the chain's control store design without color-changing lighting. Overall, using color-changing lighting increased the foot traffic and stopping power of the all-important storefront area. More shoppers stopped to look at the displays illuminated with color-changing lighting, and their propensity for handling and purchasing products displayed there increased. Specific highlights of the study include:
- A 100% increase in the total time customers spent in the color-changing storefront;
- An 81% increase in the time taken to enter through the color-changing storefront compared to the control storefront;
- A 25% increase in the likelihood of customers entering through the color-changing side of the store;
- A 21.5% increase in the number of customers who stopped to look at the color-changing display and its contents compared to the control display;
- A 20.7% increase in the foot traffic into the store containing the color-changing displays compared to the same store a year prior without color-changing illumination;
- A 17.5% increase in the number of customers who physically examined products in the color-changing display as opposed to the control display.
These results are noteworthy for retail establishments looking for ways to combat the challenges of the "decompression zone" phenomena. Coined by retail anthropologist Paco Underhill, author of "Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping," the term describes the first 15 feet of a storefront. Normally, items displayed in this area have a high propensity to be overlooked as customers get acclimated to their new surroundings. However, as the Color Kinetics study shows, using color-changing lighting in this portion of the store effectively combats the likelihood of this occurrence by using movement and light to draw attention to displays.
Many retailers today are turning to the auspices of science for support in getting customers into their stores, and in turn increasing sales. In addition to Underhill's research, a number of companies have been formed to assist retailers in scientifically qualifying their store design and merchandising strategies. "Retailers today are looking for empirical proof to determine the effectiveness of their store designs," says Matthew Tullman, President & CEO of Massachusetts-based Merchant Mechanics LLC, a research and consulting firm founded to assist clients in optimizing commercial environments. "Pairing social anthropology research techniques with expert insight into consumer perception and decision making, we can successfully determine the shopping behaviors of a store's customer base, then help that retailer customize its shopping environment to be conducive to their target shopper."
According to the recent white paper, "Dynamic Full Spectrum Digital Lighting of Retail Displays Positively Affects Consumer Behavior," a key to enhancing the shopping experience is the use of light and movement. Now with Color Kinetics products, it has never been easier for retailers to incorporate color, light and motion within their stores. Color Kinetics full spectrum digital lighting products use the company's patented, LED-based Chromacore™ technology to provide a lighting palette of over 16.7 million colors without the drawbacks associated with conventional colored lighting techniques. Chromacore-powered products are totally silent, produce little heat, and use little power, ensuring the shopping experience remains as envisioned. Color Kinetics products are simple to install and program, allowing them to be easily incorporated into many displays.
A complete copy of the white paper is available on this website or upon request by contacting the Color Kinetics Corporate Communications department at 617.423.9999 or corpcomm@colorkinetics.com. Also, complete copies will be available during GlobalShop 2001 at the Color Kinetics booth in the Visual Merchandising Show, Booth #6844.
About Color Kinetics
Color Kinetics Incorporated is the pioneer of intelligent solid-state illumination technologies. The company designs, manufactures and markets an award-winning line of products that apply the practical and aesthetic benefits of LEDs to transcend the limits of traditional light sources for use in professional, consumer, and OEM and licensing applications. Its flagship line of technologies leverage a patented layer of digital intelligence, called Chromacore®, to generate and control millions of colors and dynamic lighting effects. Color Kinetics leads the industry in solid-state lighting innovation, including the custom engineered Chromasic® microchip, and holds a growing patent portfolio encompassing a number of emerging digital technologies. Founded in 1997, the company is privately held and is headquartered in Boston, MA with offices in the UK, China, and a joint venture in Japan. More information can be found at http://www.colorkinetics.com.
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