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In “The Elements Report,” third in a series of articles based on a larger report, “Gone in 2.3 Seconds: Capturing Shoppers with Effective In-Store Triggers,” the company noted that, although more consumers than ever are heading to the store armed with a shopping list, decisions about which brand to buy are made in-store 60 percent of the time. In addition, although 32 percent of shoppers Miller Zell surveyed said in-store communication/signage is "very effective," only 27 percent said the same about traditional out-of-store advertising.

Which in-store marketing elements were most likely to lead to a sale?

According to the report, merchandising displays and end-of-aisle displays were called "very influential" or "extremely influential" by 53 percent and 48 percent of survey respondents, respectively, followed by product information at the shelf (44 percent), shelf strips (37 percent) and shelf blades (33 percent), the latter of which appear to by gaining momentum in the "information age." Least influential were ceiling banners (10 percent), overhead mobiles (12 percent) and digital signage (18 percent).

Although merchandising displays and end-of-aisle displays are clearly most valuable, many retailers reserve that space primarily for national brands, putting private label at a merchandising disadvantage.

"Retailers should consider [setting aside] some of that prime real estate for high-density presentations of their brands," said John Wilkins, Miller Zell's vice president of retail strategy. To optimize returns, however, he suggests retailers use private label displays to both build awareness of the store brand as a whole and cross-sell other private label products.

"A retailer can use a merchandising or end-of-aisle display to promote a much broader agenda than a national brand can," he explains, adding that proper in-store execution is critical to the success of store brands because they typically do not have the same out-of-store advertising budgets as their national brand counterparts. "That's why store brands have to fight harder in the store."

But high-rent merchandising and end-of-aisle displays are not the only ways to communicate the benefits of private label.

"While shoppers have been conditioned to search for special products on end caps, retailers do have some control over how and where 'maximum connection' is created with the shopper, " said D'Anna Hawthorne, Miller Zell's director of strategy. "Exploring new strike zones is a low-risk proposition that could eventually pay out in the long run."

According to the report, some of the best opportunities for improving in-store communication — and potentially sales — lie in the delivery of more detailed product information. Although much attention has been paid to price-point messaging, shoppers Miller Zell surveyed said they would most like to see more product comparisons (46 percent), product details (43 percent) and product quality information (42 percent). Perhaps because of the inherent complexity of its product offerings, opportunities are especially strong in the drug channel, where consumers are most receptive to in-store elements.

"The in-store experience continues to be a hot button for grocery, drug and mass, where shoppers spend most of their shopping hours," the report concluded. "With 73 percent of shoppers indicating that it is very important or the most important factor, these channels have the opportunity to leverage their 'share of shopping time' by maximizing the shopping experience."