Regardless of what your retail store sells, lighting is one of the most important components of a successful retail space. Lighting mistakes rarely go unnoticed and can have a direct impact on a customer’s shopping experience –– and we all know what happens when a customer’s shopping experience is poor.
We’ve created this guide to common light bulbs and LED upgrades for retail stores so you can properly highlight your products and give your customers the best experience. We've also included links to where you can buy either the product or the appropriate LED upgrade. If you'd like to jump straight to a specific area of your store, use one of these links:
General Lighting
Retail locations can have a wide range of general lighting. Most of the fixtures include a combination of track lighting, overhead fluorescent lighting, and recessed lighting.
Track lighting fixtures provide a focused beam of light with the use of a type of reflector bulb (PAR38 or PAR30).
PAR38 Track Bulb
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: PAR38 (4 3/4" diameter)
- Base: Medium (E26)
- Wattage: 39W to 100W
What are you looking for?
PAR30 Track Bulb
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: PAR30 (3 3/4" diameter)
- Base: Medium (E26)
- Wattage: 39W to 60W
What are you looking for?
If a retail store has overhead fluorescent lighting, it's usually 2’ x 2’ or 2’ x 4’ troffers. These fixtures use linear fluorescent tubes (T8s).
Linear Fluorescent Tube (T8)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: T8 (1" diameter)
- Base: Bi-pin (G13)
- Length: 1 foot to 4 foot
- Wattage: 13W to 32W, based on length
What are you looking for?
One final type of general lighting applied in retail locations is recessed cans that use BR30 bulbs. These bulbs are great in retail spaces that lack natural light because they evenly illuminate a space.
Reflector Bulb (BR30)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: BR30 (3 3/4" diameter)
- Base: Medium (E26)
- Wattage: 40W to 65W
What are you looking for?
Cove Lighting
Retail spaces often use cove lighting to create an aesthetic appeal. This type of fixture typically requires T8 bulbs.
Linear Fluorescent Tube (T8)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: T8 (1" diameter)
- Base: Bi-pin (G13)
- Length: 1 foot to 4 foot
- Wattage: 13W to 32W, based on length
What are you looking for?
Accent Lighting
Many retail locations specifically use track or recessed lighting to accent products and displays. Both track lighting and recessed cans use Halogen PAR bulbs (PAR 20, PAR 30, PAR 38), or some will use similar shaped HID bulbs.
Common Track Light Bulb (PAR30)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: PAR30 (3 3/4" diameter)
- Base: Medium (E26)
- Wattage: 39W to 60W
What are you looking for?
Fitting Room Lighting
A majority of buying decisions happen in the fitting room –– which means proper fitting room lighting is vital to a retail store’s success. The perfect fitting room lighting will eliminate shadows and provide flattering light.
Most fitting rooms have recessed cans as the primary lighting.
4" Recessed Can Bulb (R20)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: R20 (2 1/2" diameter)
- Base: Medium (E26)
- Wattage: 30W to 45W
What are you looking for?
6" Recessed Can Bulb (BR30)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: BR30 (3 3/4" diameter)
- Base: Medium (E26)
- Wattage: 45W to 75W
What are you looking for?
Additional fluorescent lighting that requires T8 tubes can be found next to or in mirrors –– this will help both your merchandise and your customers look their best.
Linear Fluorescent Tube (T8)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: T8 (1" diameter)
- Base: Bi-pin (G13)
- Length: 1 foot to 4 foot
- Wattage: 13W to 32W, based on length
What are you looking for?
Stock Room Lighting
Most stock rooms in retail spaces have overhead fluorescent lighting –– often 2' x 4' fluorescent strip fixtures that require linear fluorescent tubes (either T8s or T12s).
Linear Fluorescent Tube (T8)
Technical Jargon:
- Shape: T8 (1" diameter)
- Base: Bi-pin (G13)
- Length: 1 foot to 4 foot
- Wattage: 13W to 32W, based on length
What are you looking for?
If you still have T12s in your fixtures and you're looking to save money on lighting, there are several ways to go about retrofitting to LED. Read more about LED replacement options for T12s here.
As always, we're here to help guide you through the difficulties of lighting. Check out this blog post for more information on retail lighting design tips, or contact us today to speak to a lighting expert.
