Creating a lighting scheme is an important part of designing your retail store. There are a lot of points to consider when you are making this decision, so make sure that you do not neglect to analyze each point before you install.

Fluorescent lights are the cheapest you can get. The fixtures and bulbs are inexpensive to buy, install and maintain. Fluorescent lights are good for lighting up big warehouses and stores where lighting will not be used to showcase items, draw attention to promotions or reduce the risk of theft. If this does not sound like it would suit your store, consider using as much natural light as possible to keep lighting bills down. Halogen and LED lights also use very little energy.

Spotlighting is very effective for drawing attention to neglected areas of a store or showcasing a promotion. Analyze places where you envision promotional tables, racks or showcase walls. Make sure that you install spotlights or hanging lights in these areas so that you can draw attention when needed. You may even put these lights on a dimmer, so that when you do have a big promotion, you can increase the lighting in a particular area. Remember to incorporate a lot of lighting options in your front windows or window display cases. Sometimes you may want it to be darker with just one spotlight. You may want a series of mannequins to be spotlighted, or you may want the whole display lit up like the outdoors.

Use lighting to deter theft. This can be very important, so consider all of these points when determining how to use lighting to reduce shoplifting in your store. Studies have shown over and over again how comfortable people are when they shoplift in a darker area. Poorly lit corners are where a thief will go to steal from your store. Eliminate them by using spotlights and reflective materials in this area.

Sometimes all you need is a small lamp to illuminate an area. Corners that are hidden from the view of your cashier should have very harsh lighting and mirrors. Bright lights and mirrors make people a lot more nervous about shoplifting than they would normally be. Even stores with adequate lighting, cameras and mirrors are at risk if their dressing rooms are not properly lit. Spotlights in particular, no matter how small, are shown to give people the impression that they are being watched.

The next tip in lighting design is to maximize the lighting impact by using a lot of reflective materials in your store. Strategically place mirrors and chrome clothing racks where lights can bounce off of them and bring more light to darker areas. These strategies can almost double the amount of light in a store without running up the power bill. Reflective surfaces can be used on your dressing room doors, counter tops and walls as well.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Manager of Only Garment Racks, a leading online resource for garment racks and clothing racks. Only Garment Racks is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its garment rack and clothing rack offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.

Clothing Racks for your Retail Store

Your clothing rack and hanger choices could have more of an impact on your retail brand than you may realize. Lighting, store fixtures, logos and signs all have an influence on what your customers think and feel. Customers draw conclusions about your store quality using the impressions that they get as they go through your store.

Store fixtures say a lot about the quality of your products and your store. Things like counter displays and garment racks show how much time, effort and care you took in showcasing your inventory. You may think that clothing rack and store fixture quality has much bearing on your brand image, but it really does, more than you may think.

For example, if someone comes into your store and starts sifting through your inventory, they form an opinion. If the garment racks are shaky and seem to be falling apart, that reflects on you. If your racks are packed tight with clothes where you cannot see what is there, then who is going to bother digging through it? Tangled hangers, broken plastic hangers or shotty metal clips that tear and damage clothes all make you look cheap and like you do not care. Or even worse, it can look like you cannot afford any better, so something must be wrong with your store. Customers will draw conclusions about your quality by assessing the quality of the items surrounding them.

Using nicer hangers and clothing racks keeps your store from looking cluttered. Studies have shown that people who see wooden hangers or interesting displays automatically assume that the store quality is higher. They are willing to spend more money on the merchandise from these stores because they assume that the quality of the clothing is higher as well.

Nice hangers not only make a good impression on your customers, they help protect your inventory, too. Investing in high quality hangers is not as big of an expense as you might think. Hangers made from wood or satin do not snag or stretch delicate fabrics. They stay slightly separated making it easier for customers to find sizes and prices. They make the overall impression of your store a more positive one.

Higher quality store displays, like wood hangers and garment racks, are the backbone of your store image. When a customer is shopping in your store, you are essentially promising them a high quality product. When they look around and see what there is to offer, they are assessing whether or not they can trust that promise. Image is important and quality can help save you a lot of money in the long run. By giving your customers that extra boost in trust, they can feel more confident in paying higher prices for your merchandise.

Consider all of these things when you stock your store with hangers, garment racks and other retail store displays.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the Manager of Only Garment Racks, a leading online resource for garment racks and clothing racks. Only Garment Racks is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its garment rack and clothing rack offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlygarmentracks.com.