This article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue of Cannabis Dispensary. To subscribe, click here.
The right lighting in a dispensary can improve customers’ moods—which can lead to more positive behavior inside the dispensary and even create repeat customers—as well as positively affect employees, who may sleep better because of the dispensary lighting, explains Robert Soler, M.S., vice president of human biological research and technology for Biological Innovation and Optimization Systems (BIOS), a science-based company that creates LED lighting for a variety of applications.
But how can you achieve that ideal lighting in your dispensary? Here are nine tips from industry experts to help you change your lighting—and your business—for the better.
1. Think about what will make your customers most comfortable.
When Dockside Cannabis thought about the lighting in its dispensaries in Seattle and Shoreline, Wash., the company wanted to “portray openness, safety and an inviting atmosphere” to its customers, just like they would experience in any other retail setting, says owner Aaron Varney. “Dispensaries that want to give their customers a sense that visiting … [the dispensaries] is normal retail behavior will use lighting accordingly,” he says.
2. Use higher illumination on your products.
“Products that you want to feature should be lit [more brightly] than other products,” says Soler. Why? Recent research from BIOS uncovered that people have powerful photo-receptors in their eyes linked to their gaze—photo-receptors that are attracted to bright lights. Put simply, photo-receptors are “the reason why—when we drive at night—we tend to look directly at oncoming headlights or street lights,” he says. “This phenomenon can be used to highlight products.” For example, when you place higher illumination on some products and less on others, your customers’ eyes will be drawn to the highlighted products, which can drive sales exactly where you want them.
To read the full article in Cannabis Dispensary's February 2018 issue, click here.
Top photo courtesy of High Road Design Studio. Level Up in Scottsdale, Ariz., showcasing different levels of lighting for ambiance and product focus.
