what is brick and mortar 
 brick and mortar refers to a traditional street side business that offers products and services to its customers face to face in an office or store that the business owns or rents the local grocery store and the corner bank are examples of brick and mortar companies understanding brick and mortarmany consumers still prefer to shop and browse in a physical store in brick and mortar stores consumers can speak with employees and ask questions about the products or services brick and mortar stores can offer experience shopping whereby consumers can test a product such as a video game or laptop at best buy or have lunch in nordstrom s cafe while shopping at the store brick and mortar businesses also provide consumers with instant gratification when a purchase is made some consumers are wary of using credit cards or other forms of payment online these customers often associate legitimacy with a brick and mortar business as a physical presence can foster a perception of trust however there can be disadvantages for corporations that run brick and mortar stores including the costs associated with leasing the building employees to conduct transactions and utility expenses such as electricity heat and water brick and mortar store saleson a per store basis publicly traded retailers typically report same store sales or comparable store sales in their quarterly and annual sec regulated earnings reports these financial metrics provide a performance comparison for the established stores of a retail chain over a specified period of time brick and mortar businesses that include restaurants grocery stores and general merchandise stores use these figures to evaluate their financial performance to guide corporate decision making regarding their stores on a macroeconomic level the u s census bureau releases retail sales figures every month and e commerce retail sales figures every quarter 12 global non store retailing such as direct door to door selling and e commerce posted sales of 4 217 billion in 2023 and predicts 4 712 billion for 2024 3many brick and mortar stores have found it difficult to compete with web based stores like amazon com however companies such as costco thrive by offering its members services such as online pickup successful brick and mortar store examplewith all the negative press surrounding brick and mortar stores combined with the popularity of amazon one might think that the brick and mortar business model is dead however costco is bucking the trend costco wholesale corporation cost is a membership retailer that charges an annual fee of between 60 and 120 to each customer consumers receive cost savings and service benefits for being a member costco had over 127 million members and a 92 7 renewal rate in the united states and canada at the end of fiscal year 2023 4costco is the top third retailer in 2023 according to the national retail federation 5 costco sells 10 000 products on its website and offers consumers the option to buy goods online and pick them up in the store which helps offer its members a compelling alternative to amazon types of brick and mortar storesthere are several areas where brick and mortar stores still provide a resilient business model these are typically situations where a face to face shopping experience provides more convenience than online shopping for example advantages and disadvantages of brick and mortar storesbrick and mortar stores offer the advantage of an in person shopping experience which may be important when the product must be inspected by the shopper they are also more convenient when the product cannot easily be delivered online such as a haircut some business types are more appropriately suited to brick and mortar forms such as hair salons veterinarians gas stations auto repair shops restaurants and accounting firms marketing strategies for brick and mortar businesses must highlight the advantages a consumer has when purchasing at a physical store on the other hand brick and mortar stores tend to suffer higher overhead costs than online stores and they can reach fewer customers 6 commercial rental space tends to be more expensive than warehouse space especially if the store relies on foot traffic or a downtown location moreover they need to hire enough staff to keep the store open as well as pay for cleaning insurance and office maintenance provides a more personal experience more effective for goods that must be effective or do not ship easily more effective for some services higher costs for rent higher staffing costs difficult to serve customers outside a specific geographic area adaptations for brick and mortar storesthe rise of electronic commerce e commerce and online businesses has led many to contemplate the future of the brick and mortar business it is increasingly common for brick and mortar businesses to also have an online presence in an attempt to reap the benefits of each particular business model for example some brick and mortar grocery stores such as safeway allow customers to shop for groceries online and have them delivered to their doorstep in as little as a few hours the increasing prevalence of these hybrid business models has spawned offshoot terms such as click and mortars and bricks and clicks despite fairly sustained growth in the broader brick and mortar landscape many traditional retailers are closing stores nationwide including gymboree the limited radio shack and gamestop meanwhile other stores such as sears and payless shoesource have declared bankruptcy the importance of the brick and mortar model has been given credence by several large online e commerce companies opening physical locations to realize the advantages of traditional retail for example amazon com inc has opened brick and mortar stores to help market its products and strengthen customer relations however it hasn t always been with success in amazon s 2023 annual report it noted most of its 767 million of other operating expenses were related to asset impairment for physical store closures as well as fulfillment network facility closures 7