A new retail positioning system based on visible light communications is making shopping an even more personalised experience.

Lighting is one of the more important factors in creating the ideal retail experience. And when it comes to retail lighting fitouts, it is important for electrical contractors to strike a balance between creating ambience and promoting a positive in-store experience that will drive traffic to the till, as well as reducing energy consumption and costs.

With online shopping challenging the way consumers shop, retailers are acutely aware that the in-store shopping experience is increasingly important and that this experience is largely impacted by lighting.

As a result, Philips Lighting is piloting a lighting system that uses intelligent LED in-store lighting to communicate location-based information to shoppers via a smart phone app they can opt to download.

The lighting communicates with the app via visible light communications (VLC) to send special offers and information to the shopper, relevant to their location in the store.

“Retailers are showing a growing interest in bringing indoor location services into stores to engage with customers in a meaningful way. Retailers are looking for a system that performs and is stable, and is too difficult to install and maintain. This is where lighting comes in,” says Philips indoor positioning business leader Gerben van der Lugt.

“The replacement of a conventional lighting system to an LED system makes a lot of sense for retail investments. So if you’re going to go to the trouble of installing new lighting infrastructure, why not use the same system for indoor location as well?

“Our light-based indoor positioning system brings together a retailer’s lighting infrastructure with a super accurate platform for indoor location services that is accurate to 30cm.”

Philips’ connected retail lighting system will benefit retailers by helping them to build customer loyalty and sales by providing targeted information and discount coupons at their precise position in the store, when shoppers need it most and are most receptive.

The system works by using lighting fixtures that form a dense network that not only provide high quality light but also acts as a positioning grid. Each fixture is identifiable and able to communicate its position to an app on a shopper’s smart device. This enables the shopper to get information related to their position in the store as they move around the store.

“The beauty of the system is that retailers do not have to invest in additional infrastructure to house, power and support location beacons for indoor positioning,” Gerben says.

“The light fixtures themselves can communicate this information by virtue of their presence everywhere in the store.”

And according to Gerben, the retail positioning system is not difficult to install.

“Philips has now rolled out quite a few lighting designs for large retailers around the globe that included indoor positioning. We have found that a ‘typical’ lighting design that works from a lighting design perspective is actually good enough for indoor location too.

“You just need to make sure that you have an even coverage of light so the visible light communication technology works seamlessly.”

For now, Philips directly manages the installation of its indoor positioning system as it is still developing the tools for venue enablement, but as soon as that is stable, Gerben says it will move firmly into the scope of the electrical contractor.

“When it comes to the installation and commissioning of a lighting system control system, the contractor plays the central role. We see the initiation of indoor positioning systems as a role for contractors in the future, too.”

This latest connected lighting innovation illustrates how Philips is taking light beyond illumination, underlining its commitment to deliver meaningful innovations that improve both business value and people’s lives.