Page 64 - Lighting Magazine February 2019
P. 64

Always be looking for opportunities.
PHOTO CREDIT: STEVE PARKER
The Evolving Role
of the Lighting
Showroom
Succeeding in retail today involves so much more than just having the right products.
BY STEVEN J. PARKER, LC
60 enLIGHTenment Magazine | february 2019
The retail environment is evolving rap- idly, and the changes predicted for the future require proactive measures. We already see a large number of malls across the country closing, losing their
anchor stores and being repurposed for other applications. We live in a time where the largest hospitality company in the world (Airbnb) owns no property, the largest taxi company (Uber) owns no cars, and the largest media owner (Facebook) creates no content.
Devising a compelling reason to drive custom- ers to the retailers will be key to success. I believe that the lighting retailer has a strong position in the market, both now and in the future, if they em- brace technology — both in products and in the customer acquisition process. I also believe there has never been a more fun time to be in the indus- try; we have some really cool stu  available to us today! Smile, have fun, educate and brighten lives!
We have heard statistics that about 40 percent of the consumer base for lighting is regarding energy-e cient, and about half of that is for LED products and the other half is for compact/linear  uorescent. As the compact and linear  uorescent products start reaching their end of life, this will create additional opportunities for lighting show- rooms. Does this mean that when every socket has an LED light source that the market is done? My view is, no. There will still be new control options and be er-performing, smaller, and more e cient luminaires in our future.
When hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was asked what made him such a great hockey player, his re- sponse was: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
There are new tools that can be used to drive tra c to the retailer:
■ Geofencing & Geotargeting
■ SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
■ Boosting your SEO with Schema Markup — use it for more than just features
■ Eye tracking on shelving
■ Tracking throughout the facility
■ Proximity beacons
■ Retailers thro ling wi  at their locations (limiting search speed and popping their ads while their website can be searched at full speed)
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