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I don't see a wow factor here, but anything B&N can do to capitalize on that differentiating factor---the in-store experience---the better, as far as I'm concerned.
To keep the stores viable, and maintain that in-store experience, B&N does need to find a way to credit ebook sales to stores that have prompted them. (I know this doesn't directly effect consumers, but it does the stores, therefore eventually the consumers.)
As it is, all B&N ebook sales get credited as "online." I could go into a store, see an enticing book displayed, talk to a bookseller about it, read a review in physical magazine, read a portion of it in store for free on my NOOK...but when I buy it, the store gets no credit, sales or otherwise. In the long run, this hurts the store and B&N.
The in-store experience, for those it matters to, is one of a short list of things that truly sets the NOOK apart from its competition. It's something Amazon, Kobo, Sony, etc. just don't offer. It makes sense to exploit that advantage, however small.
NFC doesn't seem that mind blowing, but if combined with other plus factors (feel free to wildly speculate) it could work very well for B&N.
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