Retail Concepts: “Brick and Mortar”
One of the most important concepts in retail today is customer interaction. Does a company exist primarily on the internet or primarily in physical space? A space where a retail business offers goods in physical space is known as a “brick and mortar” location. According to investopedia.com, a brick and mortar location is
A traditional “street-side” business that deals with its customers face to face in an office or store that the business owns or rents.
Some businesses cater to customers primarily online. Amazon.com is one example. Some businesses cater to customers primarily in brick and mortar locations, such as grocery stores. Increasingly, though, businesses employ a mix: think about Target, for example. While they maintain a strong physical presence across America, many of their products are available for purchase online.
There are many advantages and disadvantages to both online and brick and mortar retail. I will explore these distinctions in future posts. Retail is one of my favorite topics, so I need very little prompting to sink thousands of words into it!
