If you work in a car dealership, you know how crucial it is to create an image of quality, desirability, and uniqueness. Your brand relies on standing out from the competition. That means paying attention to every detail of all touchpoints your customers come across. And becoming an “expert” in what makes car buyers tick. The car buyer’s perceived value of your brand and product is critical when losing a deal or closing the deal now. And with the proper lighting, the best color accuracy and richness of your vehicles will increase the customer’s perceived value.
It’s true, and many car dealers are ready to upgrade to LED lights. That’s because they can dramatically increase the profit potential of their showroom. Lighting is an essential element in the design of any retail showroom. Many LED fixtures are suitable for showrooms, but it’s best to have a lighting layout designed specifically for you.
You might find yourself asking, “Why?”
Creating a warm & comfortable environment makes final purchases easy. It helps to attract customers into the showroom. A good deal of study shows that poor lighting can negatively impact sales in a retail environment.
Salesman showing a couple a few cars
Comfort
High-quality LED lighting can improve the feel and perceived value of your dealership. While reducing glare, enabling you to showcase vehicles and other products will help you increase the perceived value of all your dealership offerings. When appropriately used, lighting invites and attracts customers while creating a comfortable environment to shop and transact on their next automotive purchase.
Safety
LEDs improve the quality of outdoor lighting for auto dealers and make it more inviting and safer. This will make your customers more comfortable walking your lot after dark and review your selection instead of going to your poorly-lit competition.
Mechanics. Productive. Effecient. Safe.
Productive
Studies have shown that employees that are happy in their work environment are generally more productive, enabling greater profitability for the dealership. A dealership’s shop generates good revenue from the maintenance and repairs performed. Upgrading the shop lighting to LED can improve workplace safety, productivity, and employee satisfaction. Doing so can directly and positively impact bottom-line revenue while reducing the number of return reworks to your service department. When employees know their safety and performance are paramount, they are happier and perform higher quality work the first time!
Efficient
Auto dealers are notorious for having some of the highest-energy bills in any business due to their lighting and energy usage. Simple changes to LED lighting can help the dealership reduce their electricity use and save up to 75% on their electrical bills. This has equated to savings of over 1 million kWh of electricity per year for some dealerships. Or the equivalent of $179K a year based upon a 0.179 per kWh average cost of electricity in Canada. Also, receiving the most significant rebates makes it easy for some dealerships to achieve greater savings.
Affective
There are added benefits to using LEDs beyond the massive cost savings. You gain the ability to utilize LEDs in areas where others cannot be used due to the amount of heat traditional lighting transfer. LEDs also emit light that is much brighter and more accurate in color than conventional incandescent lights. The color purity and brightness of the LED become essential as you work to improve the perceived value of your automotive stock while showing off the details, richness, and accuracy of the color.
Whether your dealership specializes in a brand or is focused on types of motor vehicles, the lighting in your showroom will impact sales, services, and branded ancillary products. When considering a retrofit or even a new build design, it’s essential to pay as much attention to the lighting layout as you do the floor layout.
Woman at the dealer hugging her new car
Ensure you get a lighting layout provided for your upgrades from the company you’re speaking with. Have a licensed electrician get permits and do the installation.
Finally, ensure the company is insured and has a solid guarantee to protect you if something goes wrong or the product fails.
Feeling unsure about how to get started with your retrofit or want to ensure your new build is designed with lighting for success from the start?
Contact a lighting specialist today: