US Food Retailer Pilots Epaper Labels

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PCC Natural Markets (PCC), a consumer-owned and operated natural foods retailer in the U.S., has announced a partnership with ZBD Solutions (ZBD), making PCC the first Pacific Northwest retailer to adopt ZBD’s electronic point of purchase (epop) technology.
 
ZBD’s epops are an eco-friendly alternative to conventional paper shelf edge labels used by retailers to communicate price and other product information.  Updating paper labels is an ongoing, labour-intensive and lengthy task.  “Plug and go,” high-definition epop LCD displays, available in various sizes and as small as 70 mm x 32 mm, are easily installed, require no power between updates and accommodate product information changes immediately and at any time.
 
PCC will conduct a pilot test of the e-paper solution in its store in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle before extending the trial into the retailer’s eight other locations. The anticipated test result is a notable reduction in human and natural resources in the forms of labor now required to produce and replace paper tags, and in paper and ink used to print tags that are eventually replaced and recycled. The e-paper solution is also expected to offer significant customer service and product knowledge potential and, because point-of-sale inventory will be easier to monitor, to make product restocking more efficient.
 
“We respect our customers’ time and food budgets, as well as their right to know as much about the products we sell as possible,” said Tracy Wolpert, PCC’s CEO, “and ZBD’s epops will help them to more quickly make informed product selections. We also try to run our stores as efficiently as possible, so that our employees spend more time with customers than with routine tasks. Implementation of ZBD’s epop solution promises to help us take another step towards better serving our customers with current, best-available prices and most up-to-date product information, and towards optimum use of store staff skills.”
 
PCC’s pilot program will begin later in 2009. Implementation of this new technology will likely expand to other PCC locations by the end of the year.