For many retailers, the adoption of in-store LED light sources is a forgone conclusion. Many hours have been dedicated to finding the cheapest, most energy efficient bulbs by estate teams worldwide.
It is easy to see why retailers may choose LED. Their energy bills are drastically decreased, shareholder pressure surrounding environmental impact is abated and LED can be used to great effect in providing areas of store with more focused light. However, the consequences of implementing LED can be disastrous if the visual assessment process is not optimised.
Colour inconstancy seen under fluorescent and LED P.O.S light sources (both 3000k)
In answer to this, VeriVide has released its new CAC-LED P.O.S, its first product incorporating LED colour assessment technology, which has been designed to ensure sales performance is not harmed by changing appearance caused by LED in-store lighting. As this lighting becomes increasingly popular, due to cost and environmental concerns, designers, buyers, brand managers and suppliers must implement solutions to ensure colour consistency and desired visual appearance for products and garments in store.
If products or samples are not assessed under LED P.O.S lighting, due to visual inconsistencies, brands and retailers can suffer from reduced sales and increased product returns. For suppliers, fines and loss of contracts are not unheard of, and for both retailers and suppliers this can result in a loss of confidence and a hit to their hard-earned reputation.
Retailers and manufacturers should be viewing samples or products under closely matched LED P.O.S lighting in a standardised lighting environment. VeriVide’s new light cabinet, incorporating LED point of sale light sources to a tight tolerance alongside traditional standardised light outputs offers a solution to this worldwide issue.
The lack of international standards relating to LED has caused a number of potential users to show caution. However, businesses are moving faster than international standards committees, with managers and executives unwilling to wait for standards to be released when they could be saving millions in energy consumption.
For brands choosing their in-store lighting, it is important to note that colour temperature must not be their only consideration. A typical 3000K fluorescent P.O.S light will often render colour differently to a 3000K LED P.O.S light, resulting in a visually different appearance in store. VeriVide Product Development Manager Steve Tongue explains: “How we see colour is affected by how much of the visible and ultraviolet wavelengths are present, with both technologies often having appreciable gaps in the spectrum.
LED vs fluorescent metamerism
“Light sources are often specified using correlated colour temperature (CCT) and colour rendering index (CRI). Using only these metrics, you fail to take into account the SPD (spectral power distribution) which ultimately defines the colour appearance of an object under a light source.”
With the introduction of the CAC-LED P.O.S, users can now visually assess using both an LED P.O.S light source and a traditional fluorescent P.O.S light source alongside other standard illuminants in controlled viewing conditions. This takes the guesswork out of visual and colour assessment, avoiding costly mistakes.
VeriVide’s new CAC-LED technology works to tighter tolerances than other aftermarket LED alternatives, the company says, and does not suffer from the fringing effect associated with alternative systems. It can help highlight metamerism and colour inconstancy before products reach store and also avoids traditional concerns with light source flickering, which disrupts visual assessment and the operator’s ability to make accurate colour decisions.
“VeriVide’s CAC-LED P.O.S is an exciting development to a ubiquitous product in visual and colour assessment. We held back from developing an LED light source until we were confident that we could provide a quality point of sale solution for our customers that fits the model of offering standardised and repeatable viewing conditions that VeriVide is known for throughout the textile industry. LED lighting is a fantastic option for many retail stores, offices and homes as it can save vast sums of money and is less impactful on the environment.
CAC-LED POS 60 unit with 3000k LED P.O.S light source on
However, we have found our customers can often miss out on valuable sales or suffer from metameric failure after changing their in-store lighting, as products and samples are not visually assessed under the correct conditions,” Tongue adds. “Brands are constantly searching for ways in which to improve the quality of their offering, with significant investments being made to ensure quality products. However, something as simple as viewing products or samples under the wrong lighting conditions can have detrimental financial consequences for businesses.”
The current environment has moved quicker than worldwide standards and VeriVide has been proactive in their development of a number of LED P.O.S lighting options that replicate popular LED in-store lighting to tighter tolerances than retrofit alternatives.
In order to ensure consistency of appearance and colour throughout the supply chain, the company advises retailers and brands to provide their LED lighting specifications to VeriVide, who will then use their colour expertise to provide a closely matched LED solution, ensuring that colour assessment is undertaken in the best environment possible.
