NEW YORK — Intel Corporation today unveiled a retail POS proof-of-concept system that could lower a store's total cost of ownership while improving customer satisfaction.

Revealed at the NRF 98th Annual Convention & Expo in New York, Intel's proof-of-concept exhibits the latest in digital signage and point-of-sale technology in a kiosk form factor, and demonstrates how technology can enhance the retail shopping experience.

Accommodating consumer preferences for self-service fueled by e-commerce trends, the kiosk demonstration includes features that match the perks of Internet shopping, such as suggestive selling and real-time inventory access, as well as showing promotions, product details and customer reviews. These features, in turn, facilitate sales associate up-selling and cross-selling opportunities, which will increase a retailer's bottom line and customer loyalty.

The POS demo is based on the 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor that is inside hundreds of millions of today's laptops and PCs. Compared with legacy POS platforms, the processor in the demo can enable more than a 70 percent reduction in required power use while still providing as much as double the amount of raw processing performance as previous generations of processors. As such, energy savings from this POS system are passed on to retailers by way of lower energy bills.

"Intel-based technologies will ensure retailers are well-positioned to move through the current economy into a successful and profitable future, while giving their customers more information faster and easier than ever before," said Joe Jensen, general manager, Intel Embedded Computing Division. "We hope the combination of improving a customer's retail experience, while also arming sales associates with more accurate information and reducing operations costs, such as electricity bills and maintenance, is a compelling proposition for the world's retailers to take advantage of what Intel technology innovation has to offer."

The proof-of-concept platform features Intel vPro technology with Intel Active Management Technology and offers lower maintenance costs, improved power management and security options such as system diagnosis. Intel vPro technology allows administrators to manage systems remotely, making it possible to turn off all systems overnight to increase energy savings and reduce the need for technicians to go on-site for system maintenance, resulting in decreased carbon emissions and lower operational expenses for retailers.

The modular design of the proof-of-concept system promotes easy upgrades to next-generation CPU platforms so retailers can remain in sync with the latest technology advancements. The POS demo is customizable with a removable PC board and individual modules that can be added on, taken off, interchanged or replaced to meet evolving business needs.

Case in point: this next-generation retail kiosk terminal that Intel showed off at the National Retail Federation Convention Tuesday. Consisting of several LCD screens and powered by a low-power Intel Core Duo (naturally), the kiosk is designed to offer the best of Internet purchasing (namely, suggestions for upselling and complementary products) as well as possibly personalized recommendations.