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Brick and click describes a retailer that sells through both physical stores and an online channel. The channels may be connected—for example, customers might order online and collect or return an item in a store—but having both channels does not necessarily mean they work as one seamless system.
What does brick and click mean?
A brick-and-click retailer has a physical retail presence and an online sales channel. The phrase is also written as “bricks and clicks,” “click and mortar,” or “clicks and bricks.” It describes the combination of store-based and online retail, not a particular store size, technology, or level of service. Square’s retail glossary uses the term for businesses combining e-commerce with traditional stores.
The channels can support one another. A customer may browse or buy online, pick up an order at a store, or return an online purchase in person. A retailer may also fulfill online orders from a nearby location. Which options are available depends on the retailer; the label alone does not promise any of them.
Is brick and click the same as omnichannel retail?
Not necessarily. Brick and click identifies the presence of both physical and online sales channels. “Omnichannel” usually emphasizes how closely those channels are connected in the customer experience, such as whether shoppers can move between them with consistent information and service.
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Terminology is not completely consistent across companies and publications. An academic discussion of multi-channel and omnichannel retail notes that the terms can be used differently, while distinguishing channel overlap and integration from channels that operate separately. The article in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science provides context for that distinction. In practical use, a retailer can be brick and click without offering a fully integrated omnichannel experience.
What integration can look like in practice
Look at what customers can actually do, rather than relying on the label. Relevant signs include:
- Fulfillment choices: whether an online order can be delivered, collected in a store, or fulfilled from a store.
- Inventory visibility: whether customers and staff can see useful availability information across locations and the online channel.
- Returns and service: whether a store can handle an online purchase or help resolve an issue that began online.
- Coordinated operations: whether the retailer’s store and online processes share the information needed to support those services.
These are ways to assess how the channels work together, not features guaranteed by the phrase. A January 2022 Hitachi Vantara article describes a retailer using online delivery, store pickup, and in-store shopping as part of a bricks-and-clicks approach. A Cushman & Wakefield and Confederation of Indian Industry report discusses inventory integration in the context of retail in India; that operational consideration should not be mistaken for a feature every brick-and-click retailer provides.
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How the term has been used
The expression has been used for decades to describe retailers combining physical and virtual operations. A 2014 CFA Institute article gives historical examples of stores supporting online orders through pickup or delivery from a nearby location. Those examples illustrate the model at that time; they do not establish what any retailer currently offers.
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In short
Brick and click means selling through both stores and the web. The extent to which those channels share inventory, fulfillment, returns, or customer service varies. “Omnichannel” commonly points to a more connected experience, but the terms are sometimes used loosely, so check the specific services a retailer offers.
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