Why do businesses leave their lights on at night?

I often walk in the early morning to clear my mind for the day ahead. This is typically hours before most people are out and I rarely see another soul.

And I realized how much energy is wasted lighting up businesses in these off-hours.

I understand leaving some of the interiors lit up for security reasons, but why the signage on the outside?

If the business is closed, how does lighting up the streets benefit? For the small handful of people who might drive by in the middle of the night, it can’t be for advertising purposes. And in most places, city street lighting is more than enough to light things up.

Timers and automatic switches are not new. These business lighting could easily be turned off in those quiet, early morning hours.

With rising energy costs and concerns about climate change due to consumption, I can’t understand why such pointless waste exists. It seems to me that turning off those lights for even a few hours during the night would benefit everyone.