Contrary to popular marketing notions, a recent poll by Leapfrog Lighting, places quality as a highly significant factor in choice of LED bulbs. With 82.5% of business owners rating quality of light as extremely important or important, energy savings, environmental benefits and lower cost of ownership are no longer the decisive factors in a buying decision. Only 5.8% of those polled indicated quality was "not important."

"This is not a big surprise," said Stephen Naor, CEO of Leapfrog Lighting, a producer of spec-quality LED bulbs. "We went into this study assuming quality was important. We've seen it in the choices our clients make, particularly retail, commercial and gallery operators. We all want to save energy and money, but in business, how a product shows when displayed is much more important."

In retail, commercial and office environments, the value of low-glare, even light distribution and consistent color are all equally important to workplace productivity, highlighting of displayed product, morale and satisfaction. This demand for better quality led to the development of Leapfrog Lighting lamps, bulbs for business who need "Total Light Quality."

The statistically significant poll found that there was no major age bias in terms of a preference for quality. Urban and suburban business owners are slightly more likely to rate quality as important, with 14.7% of rural users rating quality as not-important, against only 3.9% of suburban and 5.2% for urban. Regionally, the US Midwest was marginally more likely to say quality is not important at 6.7%. No female respondents rated quality as "not important" against 7.3% for male. Overall, the majority of all cohorts, by age, income, region or lifestyle, choose quality as important.

“Business owners know that display lighting sells product. And good lighting in a workplace increases productivity and morale,” Mr. Naor said. He added that the goal must be a no-compromise solution. “Leapfrog Lighting’s mission—our entire focus as a company—is Total Quality. To provide the most uncompromising performing LED lamps for commercial, industrial and retail applications.”

The main choice factor has become quality, he explained, since business owners have long accepted the economic value of LED lamps. LED lamps typically cost more to acquire than incandescent, but typically last more than 15 times as long, while using at least 75% less energy. The economic argument is compelling for businesses in particular, with rising energy costs and where labor costs for changing bulbs in large facilities adds to the cost. Mr. Naor believes that the economics aren't top of mind as factors, because they are now widely accepted. The poll of business owners verifies his assumption.

"One reason, I believe, that quality is so top of mind, is that there are a lot of low quality choices on the market—bulbs with uneven distribution, poor colour characteristics and glare," Mr. Naor explained. "That may be fine for some consumers, but business owners look to spec-quality bulbs, such as the Leapfrog Lighting line to showcase product and improve work conditions."