Carrefour Express Project: how to use lighting to improve customer experience
Unlike large department stores and industrial warehouses that extend as far as the eye can see, Carrefour Express supermarkets offer a more intimate experience.
They are, quite simply, small local shops starting at 100m2 where customers can do a quick and easy local shop with the added reassurance of the Carrefour brand name.
En este artículo trataremos...
- SEVERAL LIGHT FIXTURES FOR A SINGLE PROJECT
- APPROPRIATE DISTRIBUTION FOR OPTIMUM RESULTS
Several light fixtures for a single project
Drawing up a supermarket lighting project entails taking a number of critical factors into account, including appropriate fixtures, power supply and colour temperature.
Type of electrical installation
Light fixture installation and assembly can vary in projects of this kind. Everything depends on where electrical installations need to be fitted and the type of ceiling at the premises. There are a number of different techniques for fitting light fixtures: Recessed lights; Surface lights; Suspended lights; or Lights fitted onto tracks that contain electrical conductors.
Lighting requirements
Depending on the specific area of the shop floor, preferred options can range from more generic lighting for illuminating transit areas and shop shelves to others that focus on counters, display cabinets and other important spots.
Types of LEDs
Secom offers a wide range of LEDs that have been designed specifically for each type of product. The aim is to increase the chromatic reproduction of certain articles, thereby making the colours more vivid and pleasing to the eye. In doing so, they help to boost sales in those particular sections. Special LED lights for meat, fish, baked goods and even fruit and vegetables are particularly noteworthy.
Legislation
Certain sections of shops require different degrees of lighting depending on what those areas are used for. For example, the checkout area. The solutions that are adopted need to be a perfect match for the lighting limits stipulated by international legislation.
Cosmetic considerations
Light fixtures also need to look good. They need to have an aesthetically pleasing design and colour and, in this case, be a good match for Carrefour’s corporate image.
Appropriate distribution for optimum results
Once all the aforementioned points have been defined, it is time to get hands on.
In the first instance and in this particular project, we addressed two different areas: the checkout and the aisles and sections.
In the checkout area where cashiers run purchases through the till and help customers bag their items, the lighting levels needed to adapt specifically to those tasks. In this case particular case, the average lighting needed to exceed 500 lx with a minimum uniformity of 60%.
With this in mind, we opted for the Aliket Basic light fixture which has a 5,000 K colour temperature, taking us above and beyond the existing conditions at the premises and fitting in perfectly with the aesthetics in that section.
Next, we needed to address the issues that can sometimes affect the aisles. In a supermarket, the aisles are rather unique because the light fixtures in this area generally focus on transit areas but they also need to illuminate the products on the shelves on both sides of the aisle. We selected the 5,000 K Aliket Basic suspended fixture and installed it along the entire aisle with an asymmetrical optic on both sides. In doing so, we were able to redirect the beam of light and get results in excess of 700 Lx and 70% uniformity. The LED we used in this area has a chromatic reproduction index in excess of 95% which meant that we were able to highlight the products on the shelves.
Last of all, we addressed the fruit and vegetable section and the fish counter.
The two areas require the same levels of lighting as the ones mentioned above but with the focus on the counter tops and display cabinets. We opted for Boxter LED lights on tracks. With this option, it is possible to move the fixtures on their tracks and adjust positions so that the light is concentrated on specific spots.
Once we had ensured that all legislative requirements had been met and that the selected options were aesthetically pleasing and met the premise’s electrical installation and chromatic reproduction needs, the project was given the go ahead. Secom’s manufacturing facilities are located in Spain, which meant that everything was ready for production and delivery in no time at all and without any hold-ups.
