SEATTLE — PCC Natural Markets here has announced a partnership with ZBD Solutions, Windsor, United Kingdom, a provider of electronic point of purchase technology.

PCC will conduct a pilot test of the “epaper” system in its store in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle before extending the trial into the retailer’s eight other locations.

ZBD’s LCD electronic shelf labels “are an eco-friendly alternative to conventional paper shelf edge labels used by retailers to communicate price and other product information,” said PCC. The displays, available in various sizes and as small as 72-by-32 milimeters, accommodate immediate product information changes.

The anticipated test result, said PCC, 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 epaper 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.

Read More of Today's Headlines