Brick and mortar

Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. 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. More specifically, in the jargon of e-commerce businesses in the 2000s, brick-and-mortar businesses are companies that have a physical presence (e.g., a retail shop in a building) and offer face-to-face customer experiences. Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. 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. More specifically, in the jargon of e-commerce businesses in the 2000s, brick-and-mortar businesses are companies that have a physical presence (e.g., a retail shop in a building) and offer face-to-face customer experiences. This term is usually used to contrast with a transitory business or an Internet-only presence, such as fully online shops, which have no physical presence for shoppers to visit, talk with staff in person, touch and handle products and buy from the firm in person. However, such online businesses normally have non-public physical facilities from which they either run business operations (e.g., the company headquarters and back office facilities), and/or warehouses for storing and distributing products. Concerns such as foot traffic, shopfront 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. Governments are also adopting e-government approaches, which is the use of online services for citizens to enable them to fill in government forms, pay tax bills and register for government programs online; these services aim to cut bricks and mortar costs (building leasing/purchase and staff costs) and improve services to citizens (by offering 24/7 access to information and services). The name is a metonym derived from the traditional building materials associated with physical buildings: bricks and mortar. The term was originally used by 19th century British novelist Charles Dickens in the book Little Dorrit. The term brick-and-mortar businesses is also a retronym, in that most shops had a physical presence before the advent of the Internet. The term is also applicable in a pre-Internet era, when contrasting businesses with physical retail presence with those that operated strictly in an order-by-mail capacity pre-Internet. The history of brick and mortar businesses cannot be dated precisely, but it existed in the earliest vendor stalls in the first towns, where merchants brought their agricultural produce, clay pots and handmade clothing to sell in a village market. Bricks and mortar businesses remain important in the 2010s, though many shops and services, ranging from consumer electronics shops to clothing shops and even grocery shops have begun offering online shopping. This physical presence, either of a retail shop, a customer service location with staff, where clients can go in person to ask questions about a product or service, or a service center or repair facility where customers can bring their products, has played a crucial role in providing goods and services to consumers throughout history. 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. A prime example of this is McDonald’s, a company that started with one small restaurant and now has nearly 36,000 restaurants in over 120 countries and plans to grow further; this shows the importance of having a physical presence. For many small businesses, their business model is mostly limited to a bricks and mortar model, such as a diner restaurant or a dry cleaning service. Nevertheless, even service-based businesses can use websites and 'apps' to reach new customers or improve their services. For example, a dry cleaning service could use a website to let customers know of the hours and location(s) of their bricks and mortar stores. Netflix, an online movie streaming website founded in 1997, is an example of how an online business has affected a B&M businesses such as video rental stores. After Netflix and similar companies became popular, traditional DVD rental stores such as Blockbuster LLC went out of business. Customers preferred to be able to instantly watch movies and TV shows using 'streaming', without having to go to a physical rental store to rent a DVD, and then return to the store to give the DVD back. 'The rapid rise of online film streaming offered by the likes of Lovefilm and Netflix made Blockbuster's video and DVD business model practically obsolete.' There has been an increase in online retailers in the 2000s, as people are using e-commerce (online sales) to fulfill basic needs ranging from grocery shopping to book purchases. Sales through mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones have also risen in the 2000s: 'While total online sales rose 18% year-on-year in December to £11.1 , according to the latest figures from e-tail industry body IMRG and advisory firm Capgemini, sales via mobile devices doubled to £3 .' 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. 'Today’s consumers lead busy lives and shopping takes time. Often it is a task. Consumers find researching and shopping on the Web far more convenient than brick-and-mortar visits.' Another example of this is the introduction of online banking, which has affected bank branches on the High Street: 'Barclays will shut at least 50 branches this year.' Brick and mortar businesses are not limited to having a physical presence only, they may also have an online presence such as Tesco, who offer an online grocery service as well as a brick and mortar retail presence.