Brick and mortar
The term brick-and-mortar business is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases retail shops, factory production facilities, or warehouses for its operations.
[2] Concerns such as foot traffic, storefront visibility, and appealing interior design apply to brick-and-mortar businesses rather than online ones.
An online-only business needs to have an attractive, well-designed website, a reliable e-commerce system for payment, a good delivery or shipping service, and effective online marketing tactics to drive web traffic to the site.
The history of brick-and-mortar businesses cannot be dated precisely, but it existed in the earliest vendor stalls in the first towns (as early as 7500 BC), where merchants brought their agricultural produce, clay pots and handmade clothing to sell in a village market.
All large retailers in the 19th and the early to mid-20th century started off with a smaller brick-and-mortar presence, which increased as the businesses grew.
After Netflix and similar companies became popular, traditional DVD rental stores such as Blockbuster LLC went out of business.
"The rapid rise of online film streaming offered by the likes of Lovefilm and Netflix made Blockbuster's video and DVD [rental] business model practically obsolete.
'[5] The increase in households where both adults work outside the home, combined with the convenience of shopping for and buying products and services online, has decreased the number of customers going to retail outlets, as consumers can access the same information about products and services without paying for gas, parking and other costs, thus saving them time and money.
Start-up companies and other small businesses typically find it hard to pay all of the fixed costs that are part of their venture.
As well, in many cities traffic jams and congestion on roads have made it more stressful and time-consuming to drive to physical locations to shop.
For stores selling expensive products or services in a B&M format, customers expect beautiful window displays, fine decorating in the establishment and well-dressed salespeople who earn high commission on their sales.
Some high-end hair salons and luxury car stores even offer conveniences such as free espresso and bottled water, all of which add to the overhead of selling these products and services.
To lessen the stress of waiting, some B&M stores provide big-screen TVs with cable TV, free coffee and newspapers; while these niceties improve the customer experience, they add to the costs of operating a B&M establishment.
