What CRI Rating Do You Need for Retail and Supermarket Lighting?

What CRI Rating Do You Need for Retail and Supermarket Lighting?

CRI (Color Rendering Index) measures how accurately a light source reveals the true colors of objects compared to natural light, on a scale up to 100. For retail and supermarket projects, choosing the wrong CRI can make fresh produce, meat, and merchandise look dull or unappealing — directly affecting sales.

CRI Guidelines by Application

• Ra80 — acceptable for general warehouse and back-of-house lighting where color accuracy is not critical.

• Ra90+ — recommended for supermarkets, fresh produce and meat counters, clothing retail, and showrooms, where accurate color rendering directly affects how appealing products look to customers.

• Ra95+ — used for high-end boutiques, jewelry display, and photography studios where color accuracy is critical.

Our Recommendation

For most commercial retail and supermarket projects, we recommend Ra90 LED panel lights as the standard choice — a small cost increase over Ra80 that significantly improves how merchandise and food products appear under the lighting.

Browse our LED Panel Light range or ask us about Ra90+ options for your retail project through our inquiry form.