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Brick-and-click retail describes a business that sells through both physical stores and an online channel. Depending on how its operations are set up, a customer might browse online, collect an order in a store, or return an online purchase at a store. Having both channels does not necessarily mean they work together seamlessly.
What does brick and click mean?
A brick-and-click retailer operates a physical retail presence as well as an online sales channel. The phrase is also written as “bricks and clicks” and sometimes called “click and mortar” or “clicks and bricks.” These labels describe the combination of store-based and online selling; they do not, by themselves, specify how closely the channels are connected.
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For example, a retailer may let customers place an order on its website and collect it at a store. It might also accept a return in store for an item bought online. Square’s retail glossary uses these kinds of services to illustrate how e-commerce and traditional stores can be integrated: Square’s definition of brick and click.
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Not necessarily. Brick and click identifies the presence of both physical and online retail channels. “Omnichannel” usually suggests that channels are more deliberately connected, so customers can move between them as part of a coordinated experience. Retailers and publications do not always use the terms consistently, so the label alone cannot establish how integrated a particular business is.
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In academic discussions, the distinction often turns on whether channels overlap from the customer’s perspective and support a seamless experience. A Springer Nature article discusses this variation in the use of multichannel and omnichannel terminology: the article on multichannel and omnichannel retail.
What integration can look like in practice
Brick-and-click businesses may connect online and store operations in different ways. The examples below describe possible services, not guaranteed features of every retailer using the term.
- Order fulfillment: Customers may choose home delivery or store pickup. A January 2022 Hitachi Vantara article describes a retailer using online delivery, store pickup, and in-store shopping as parts of its brick-and-click approach: Hitachi Vantara’s overview.
- Returns and service: A store may handle returns or customer service for purchases made online, giving customers another way to resolve an issue.
- Inventory and operations: Coordinating stock information and store and online processes can help support cross-channel services. A retail report by Cushman & Wakefield and the Confederation of Indian Industry discusses inventory integration in the context of retail in India: the India-focused retail report.
How to tell whether a retailer’s channels are connected
If you are assessing a specific retailer, look at what it actually lets customers do across channels rather than relying on the business label. Useful points to check include:
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- Whether online orders can be returned or exchanged in store.
- Whether the retailer shows store-level stock availability online, and how clearly it explains that information.
- Whether customer service can access or help with purchases made through another channel.
- Whether pickup, delivery, and returns are described as coordinated options or handled separately.
These are practical ways to compare implementations, not a universal ranking of retailers. A business can qualify as brick and click simply by operating stores and selling online, even if it offers few services that connect the two.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where the phrase comes from
The phrase has been used to describe retailers combining physical and virtual operations. A 2014 CFA Institute article discussed examples from that period, including stores supporting online orders with pickup or delivery from a nearby location: CFA Institute’s 2014 discussion. Those examples are historical and should not be taken as evidence that any named retailer offers the same services today.
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