Technology headlined a lot of the news coming out of this year’s National Retail Federation Big Show Expo in New York City, and perhaps none more so than mobile and wireless technology and its implications for retailers.

A survey by payment technology provider Verifone provided some brow-raising insights about consumers and mobile technology at retail. Of more than 1,000 U.S. adults polled, half of were unfamiliar with mobile technologies such as near field communication (NFC) and mobile wallets. Similarly, half said they were unlikely to shop in a store because it used in-store tracking technology to provide offers on mobile devices.

At the same time,  53% of consumers said it was important for more stores to install devices that enable them to pay with their smartphones — indicating wide receptivity to mobile pay options once they’re provided, Verifone’s survey found. Also, 84% of respondents said they would use their smartphones to pay for small and medium purchases, such as a cup of coffee or pair of jeans. Click here to download an infographic of the Verifone survey findings.

Meanwhile, a study conducted for network and cloud solution provider EarthLink Holdings gave a closer look at the retail industry’s plans for store networking, Wi-Fi and customer engagement. Among the preliminary findings, 82% of  large to midsize retail respondents have already deployed in-store Wi-Fi and — more important — 27.5% of retailers report that customer loyalty increased due to deploying in-store customer Wi-Fi. This year, 34% of retailers indicated they will update their store level Wi-Fi technologies.