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Clicks and mortar describes a business that sells through both internet channels and physical locations, such as a retailer with an ecommerce website and a store. The term identifies the presence of both channels; it does not require a particular way of joining inventory, ordering, payment, or delivery.
What does clicks and mortar mean?
In retail, a clicks-and-mortar business combines traditional physical trading with internet trading. The physical side might be a shop or showroom; the online side might be an ecommerce website or another internet sales channel. Collins gives the same basic definition in its COBUILD Key Words for Retail reference: “A clicks and mortar business is one that combines traditional trading methods with Internet trading.”
The phrase is also written as “click-and-mortar.” Related expressions include “clicks and bricks” and “bricks and clicks.” Dictionary.com records the term in the 1995–2000 period; that is a dictionary’s recorded period, not definitive proof of when the expression was first coined.
How is clicks and mortar different from brick-and-mortar or online-only?
| Retail model | Sales presence | What the label tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Brick-and-mortar | Physical retail locations | The business sells in person; the label alone does not establish whether it also sells online. |
| Online-only | Internet channels | The business sells online without a physical retail presence under this distinction. |
| Clicks and mortar | Both internet channels and physical retail locations | The business has both channels, but the term does not specify how closely they are connected. |
In everyday usage, “brick-and-mortar-only” makes the contrast explicit: it sells through physical locations without an online retail channel. A clicks-and-mortar retailer may operate the channels separately or connect some of their customer and operational functions.
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What are examples of a clicks-and-mortar business?
A retailer fits the basic definition if it has both a physical retail presence and an internet sales channel. How a customer uses those channels can vary:
- A shopper checks a product online, then visits a store to see or buy it.
- A shopper places an order online and collects it at a store, if the retailer offers pickup.
- A customer buys an item in person and arranges delivery to their home.
- A customer discovers a product online, then visits a showroom before deciding whether to buy.
These are possible ways to combine channels, not requirements. A store does not need to offer pickup or share live inventory with its website to meet the basic definition.
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How integrated do the online and in-store channels have to be?
There is no single required level of integration. One retailer may maintain separate online and store operations; another may connect product discovery, orders, inventory, payment, or fulfillment. The phrase by itself does not tell a customer whether a product shown online is available at a nearby location, whether an online order can be returned in store, or whether prices match across channels. Those details depend on the retailer’s policies and systems.
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Does using both channels guarantee better business results?
No. Having online and physical channels can give customers more ways to discover, evaluate, and buy products, but it also creates costs and operational demands. Retailers need to manage the customer experience across channels and avoid spreading attention or resources so thinly that service suffers.
A 2006 theoretical study by Fernando Bernstein, Sang-Hyun Song, and Xiaohang Zheng found that a dual-channel equilibrium did not necessarily mean higher firm profits; consumers were generally better off under the conditions modeled in the paper. Those findings describe a theoretical model, not a universal prediction for every retailer: “Clicks-and-Mortar: Channel Integration and the Competitive Impact of Online Alliances”.
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