Smart lighting: shining a light on what consumers really want

Lucy Fisher
21 March 2014
Guardian Professional

An innovative system allows retailers to send offers and information to customers based on their position in-store
At a pilot scheme in a museum in the Netherlands, LED lights enable visitors to learn more about exhibits as they view themy. Photograph: Eugene Sergeev/Alamy
Apple may be stealing the limelight once more with its iBeacons technology, but flying under the radar is a technology arguably no less interesting for retailers, and which was showcased by the technology company Philips last month at EuroShop in Düsseldorf – the retail trade fair for the increasingly complex world of store fit-out.
In essence, it’s a smart LED system that can communicate with visitors’ smartphones, sending relevant offers and information. Philips claims that the system offers a high degree of accuracy, unlike some of the temperamental location-mapping offerings we have grown accustomed to.
Menno Kleingeld, head of indoor lighting at Philips, told the Guardian that the company had been fine-tuning the offering in the research department for some time and had been running a pilot scheme in a museum in Leiden, the Netherlands, where the lights enable visitors to learn more about its exhibits as they view them.
He said the system attracted a great deal of interest from retailers at EuroShop, in particular from supermarkets that have been embracing LED technology for energy-efficiency or maintenance reasons. These types of bulbs – “luminaires” as they are known in the lighting industry – can offer cost-savings both in terms of energy usage and because they generally need replacing less frequently than their more traditional counterparts.
Kleingeld said retailers recognised the potential to add on promotional activities tied to a visitor’s exact location and that Philips was aiming for commercial roll-out next year. He was also quick to explain that smart LED is not the same as Li-Fi (light fidelity) – another emerging technology, which uses lightwaves to send data at faster speeds than traditional Wi-Fi. “This is about sending information from a luminaire to a recipient via the X/Y co-ordinates in a grid,” he explained. “It’s an intelligent LED lighting system. It is not looking at making bandwidth available.”
In its publicity for the technology, Philips has used the example of a shopper who wants to make guacamole and is directed to the relevant ingredients.
Despite the fact that it’s a smartphone app that is used in the above example, Kleingeld pointed out the technology was not reliant on a user carrying a smartphone and the information could be displayed on low-cost sensors in a shopping trolley. “We’ve tried it with a smartphone or tablet camera. The next wave could see it integrated into scanners, fixed to a trolley,” he said, adding that it could also help staff navigate the store as they perform routine tasks.
The cost, however, seems to be a moot point. Given that a retailer would need to supply a map of the store, Kleingeld said it’s not possible to provide a benchmark cost of implementing such a lighting scheme, given that “every retailer may want adaptation in a slightly different way”. He added: “I can see this technology being used in any large area where there’s a time pressure,” and maintenance costs could be kept to a minimum if bulbs were pre-programmed to send information regarding how many hours of life they had remaining, which is easy to do.
Christiaan Rikkers, managing director of the retail concept development agency JosDeVries, which collaborated with Philips on the scheme, was enthusiastic about the technology: “With Wi-Fi, there is a risk of personal data going to the retailer,” he said. “This is more one-way, sending information to the customer’s smartphone. It’s only the retailer sending info in this way so offers a better protection of privacy.”
He believes that many retailers fail to consider the importance of effective in-store lighting in terms of creating a brand identity. “Too often companies only consider the technical aspects,” he said. “Retailers can use their own in-store environment to offer more interaction.”
Kleingeld believes that supermarkets are likely to be much more attractive places in the future, pointing out that if food is lit better and therefore looks better, consumers will buy more of it. Given the ongoing trend towards showrooming – browsing in-store for the same products online – many have recognised the need to offer more of a brand experience in store.
Jeff Shaw, associate director at consultancy Arup, agrees that lighting is an often overlooked element of the retail environment: “It’s often forgotten in fitting rooms, where the purchase decision is made. Lighting plays a big role in the overall identity of a space. It can create a sense of opulence in boutique stores, but also utilitarianism in supermarkets, where the aim usually isn’t to look ‘expensive’.”
He points out that, with retail outlets competing with online offerings as well as their real-world counterparts, an experience can be delivered with clever use of lighting: “Shops used to compete with each other,” Shaw said. “They just wanted to be brighter than the one next door. Now they have online to contend with, too.”