Bigger isn’t always better.

During Huntington Bancshares Inc’s second-quarter earnings call held earlier this morning, the $56 billion regional bank holding company’s Chairman, President and CEO Steve Steinour touted its in-store branch efforts during the Q&A.

“We are pleased with the results,” said Steinour. “[In-store] branches are good to grow out for loans and deposit products.”

In May, Huntington announced an in-store banking agreement with Meijer. Over the next several years, Huntington will install seven-day-a-week, full-service branches “in dozens” of Meijer stores throughout Michigan.

During the call, the bank said it intends to significantly invest in Michigan. Huntington also said it views its in-store branches as a channel for small business transactions because of their extended hours.

Though in-store branches appear to work well for Huntington, the model can present a unique set of challenges to banks. Will Weidman, vice president at Applied Predictive Technologies Inc, a provider of market testing services, tells us that there are nuances to making money at in-store branches. Among the subtleties? Customers of in-store branches might not be as loyal to the institution as traditional branch customers, he says. Plus, in-store branch employees need to be more social. Why? Because grocery buyers do not always come to the retail store to bank. In-store tellers need to find ways to draw those customers into the branch.

“It requires people to be out there talking to people,” he says.