Retail Store Lighting for Elderly Consumers: An Experimental Approach

The study presents an investigation of the influence of the color of light on readability by figure to background value contrast, color perception, and overall room‐light estimation for elderly consumers in an experimental setting representing a retail store. A factorial design with repeated measure...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Family and consumer sciences research journal 2007-06, Vol.35 (4), p.316-337
Main Authors: Park, Nam-Kyu, Farr, Cheryl A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age Differences
Built Environment
Color
color perception
Consumers
Elderly
Elderly people
Lighting
Older people
Readability
retail lighting
Retail stores
Shopping
Stores
value contrast
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Summary:The study presents an investigation of the influence of the color of light on readability by figure to background value contrast, color perception, and overall room‐light estimation for elderly consumers in an experimental setting representing a retail store. A factorial design with repeated measures was used to identify the impact of three independent variables: (a) lamp color temperatures, (b) lamp color‐rendering properties, and (c) age of the participants. The results show that older adults perceived the higher color temperature light source as less cool than did younger adults. Older adults rated their level of comfort and preference higher than the younger participants under all lighting conditions. Regarding readability, higher color‐rendering light sources provide better readability, and older adults have more difficulty with warmer lighting when value contrasts were reduced. Implications from this study can be applied to retail lighting techniques to attract elderly consumers.
ISSN:1077-727X
1552-3934
DOI:10.1177/1077727X07300096