Brick and Mortar vs Ecommerce Stores - A Detailed Comparison

If you plan to begin your entrepreneurial journey today, you are stepping into the most competitive yet excellent business opportunity of this age. 

Thanks to the development of technology and the internet, building businesses has never been quicker or more straightforward. 

If this was 1975 and you had thought about starting a business, you likely would have encountered many more cultural, financial, and operational challenges. 

But, not today. 

Now, we have so many resources available that anyone with the right mindset and planning can build thriving businesses.

In the retail sector, brick and mortar vs eCommerce is always a debatable topic among experts as these two are two main retail sales channels.

In this blog, we will discuss their detailed comparison followed by a few assessment points to decide which one you should go with. 

So, let's dive into the difference between Brick and Mortar vs Ecommerce stores in detail without wasting any more time.

We hope you now have a thorough understanding of Brick and Mortar and Ecommerce businesses. 

I’m sure that by now, you’ll have your choice fixed and decide which one you want to go for your retail business. 

But I have a few other points to share with you so that you can determine which is most suitable for your business. 

Knowing the differences between Brick and Mortar vs Ecommerce is excellent, but understanding your business's standpoint and style of operations make a lot of difference in choosing which one to go for. 

There are many guides available on the web, but below are standard rules to determine whether your business idea is suitable for brick and mortar or eCommerce. 

Evaluate the Shopping Habits of Your Customers 

Having an attractive eCommerce store is great or purchasing a few hundred square feet of space at a famous local shopping mall is incredible, but you must first decide whether your buyers expect you at those channels or not. 

Do your buyers love to shop from the comfort of their homes, or do they prefer outdoor shopping during the weekends and choose products physically before making the purchase?

Observing their shopping habits will help you identify the type of investment you need to make for your business. Then, you can enable delightful shopping experiences for your customers with your brand. 

If you avoid thinking from this perspective, you might end up with a scenario where, for example, you've gone for a brick and mortar store. However, your ideal customers get influenced by Instagram celebrities and buy products online. 

At that point, an online store would’ve been a more lucrative option for you to generate sales.

Remember, if you're not present to serve the buyers at the right channel, it leaves an open door for your competitors to step in and entertain those customers.

Focus on The Type of Products and Your Business Goals

When deciding between brick and mortar vs eCommerce, think in the alignment of the type of product you want to sell through these channels. 

The reason being, your product type will play a key role in further plannings of logistics and warehousing. 

Plus, it also helps you determine which channel between these two would be ideal for you. 

For example, if you are selling day-to-day groceries at a Logan City only, your ideal customers preferably visit your store to purchase goods instead of browsing through the product pages on an eCommerce store. 

Similarly, if you are selling luxurious mattresses across Australia, then you cannot expect your ideal customers living in Sydney to visit your store located in Brisbane. Therefore, you need to have a well-designed eCommerce website to thrive your business. 

Furthermore, suppose you are selling beauty products that are fragile and stored in cold places to maintain quality. In that case, you either have to partner with reliable third-party logistics like PACK & SEND or go with a local store not to jeopardize the logistics and shipping of those products.

Choose brick and mortar or eCommerce by keeping the type of products in focus so that you don't indirectly compromise the product quality during the delivery lifecycle. 

Keep Observing The Recent Market Shifts 

Make sure you consider the current change and the shifts of markets when thinking about brick and mortar vs eCommerce. 

For example, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone was forced to stay indoors for almost the entire 2020.

That's when it led to the rise of online shopping and the eCommerce ecosystem. 

According to the source, almost 2.5 million Australians purchased online for the first time during the pandemic.

Due to Coronavirus, the eCommerce sales in Australia is at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% between 2020 and 2024, notes GlobalData.

Also Read: Ecommerce 2021: The Covid-19 Impact and Emergence of New Tech

Therefore, always keep a close look at the market shifts to evaluate which retail channel is most suitable for your business. 

Over to you!

Let us know what you think about Brick and Mortar vs eCommerce stores. 

We hope you liked the infographic and the information that followed after it helpful, and now you can make informed decisions about your business. 

Do not forget to share these resources with your colleagues and friends to help them make smarter business decisions.