Effects of color and lighting on retail impression and identity

• Color and lighting affect perception of space impression and retail identity.
• Chromatic space conditions received more positive score of impression and identity.
• Warm color tone and colored-light significantly enhance space identity.
• Lighting arrangement is a secondary factor in enhancing retail identity.

In retail design, the use of color and light are important design techniques which aim to attract customers and increase market opportunities. The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of color and lighting on impression and identity of a bank sub-branch in Thailand. In this study, 144 research participants evaluated six computer-generated scenes with different color hues, lighting arrangements and correlated color temperatures using a semantic differential scaling method. The results show that different color and lighting conditions significantly affect both the impression of space and perception of retail identity. The results indicate that bank sub-branch space with chromatic conditions, especially space with warm color tone and colored-light, received a higher positive score of impression and identity. To fully understand the effect of color and lighting on space perception and retail identity, this study suggests that other color properties should be examined.