Walgreens Lighting Upgrade Saves $$$, Boosts Display Effectiveness

Walgreens has recently completed an upgrade of its general lighting across 80 percent of its nationwide locations – a change that not only saves energy costs, but also improves display effectiveness, the retailer said.

"Creating the very best shopping experience for our customers is our top priority, and lighting helps us achieve that goal," said Tim Schmid, divisional VP of facilities management, energy and sustainability with Walgreens. "With our new lighting upgrade, colors appear more vibrant and more like they would in daylight, so customers don't need to second guess themselves in the cosmetics aisle. Plus, the change is saving us money and energy at the same time."

According to GE, Walgreens new lighting initiative meant installing lamps with a higher color temperature and color rendering index (CRI), causing tones to appear more vivid and vibrant. Because different types of light produce different color temperatures, lighting can affect how shoppers perceive the colors of different products. Color accuracy at a store widely known for its cosmetics selection is critical. In addition,

New linear fluorescent fixtures from GE Lighting will increase energy efficiency by nine percent and extend re-lamp cycles by 10 percent. Walgreens achieved greater energy efficiency by switching from 28-watt to new 25-watt GE F25 T8 linear fluorescent tubes. Though the difference in wattage is only three watts per light, the change means thousands of dollars saved as it impacts more than 4.3 million lights at nearly 7,000 stores.

Walgreens was recently recognized with GE's annual 'Retailer of the Year' award in 2011 for demonstrating how energy-efficient lighting can improve the visual aesthetics of a store. The nation's largest drugstore chain is also GE's largest employer of F25 technology.

Walgreens operates 7,907 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.