Pricer & Epishine to set foundation for sustainable electronic shelf labels

Pricer will explore the possibilities of a new generation of advanced electronic shelf labels (ESL) making them self-powered through light in partnership with Swedish Epishine.

The retail industry’s rapidly evolving digital transformation enables increased operation excellence, while there is an increasing focus on sustainability both within the industry and from the consumers.

Pricer and Epishine, a leading developer and manufacturer of indoor solar cells, are joining forces to enable a sustainable solution for powering ESLs through indoor ambient light. The aim of this cooperation is to find a solution that combines both the benefits of digitalization and the increased focus on sustainability.

“We are convinced that Epishine is the perfect choice of partner for us and together we aim at setting a new standard for sustainable retail. With more than 30 million electronic shelf labels sold every year, Pricer realizes the positive impact that alternative energy sources will have on retailers’ sustainability targets. As we see an increasing interest from leading retailers all over the world in in-store communications solutions, and thereby a rise in energy needs, we are continuously looking at alternative energy sources”, said Chris Chalkitis, Chief Digital Officer at Pricer.

Epishine’s indoor solar cells are optimized for indoor lighting, meaning that they harvest energy from the available light indoors to power electronics like ESLs. The smart retail industry is a strategically great fit for a sustainable shift in powering method used for small devices such as shelf labels, not only due to the number of batteries that can be eliminated but also because of the light availability in stores.

“The trends of digitalization and sustainability within retail align very well with our ambition to support our customers in making sustainable self-powered electronics. We are happy to combine our efforts with another Swedish world-leading tech-company and are looking forward to supporting Pricer in taking the leading role within sustainable smart retail”, said Anna Björklou, CEO at Epishine.

Epishine’s high-performance indoor solar cells only contain non-toxic elements, making them safe for use in any environment, a particularly important factor for the food industry and for products that operate near people and food. ESLs integrated with Epishine’s solution will be able to operate without batteries, resulting in a longer lifetime.