Many companies have adopted a "click-and-mortar" business model to remain competitive and stand out. What exactly does "click-and-mortar" mean? What are its benefits? And how can you build your own successful click-and-mortar model? In this article, we discuss the click-and-mortar business model, how it works, its advantages, and more.

What's in this article?

• What is a click-and-mortar business model?
  
• How does the click-and-mortar model work?
  
• What are the benefits of click-and-mortar businesses?
  
• How can businesses develop omnichannel sales strategies?
  
• Examples of click-and-mortar businesses in France
  
• How Stripe Connect can help
  

What is a click-and-mortar business model?

"Click-and-mortar" is a hybrid sales model used to describe companies that operate both online and in person. Most click-and-mortar businesses have a physical shop with a parallel e-commerce site.

This hybrid model allows businesses to maximise omnichannel sales while offering customers a flexible, modern shopping experience.

How does the click-and-mortar model work?

Click-and-mortar businesses are different from traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, which sell products exclusively in physical shops. They're also different from fully online, "pure player" businesses. The click-and-mortar model combines and synchronises the two, with the website serving as a complement to the physical shop.

This allows customers to shop for goods the way they prefer. For example, customers might browse products online and then visit a shop to try out and buy the items. Alternatively, they can speak with employees in a store and then make the actual purchase online (e.g. via a mobile app).

What are the benefits of click-and-mortar businesses?

The combination of online and physical storefronts is convenient for customers and offers benefits to businesses. The click-and-mortar model can help businesses do the following:

• Increase brand visibility both nationally and internationally
  
• Generate more sales and reach new customers
  
• Retain customers who prefer the hybrid shopping experience, increasing the likelihood that they'll come back and re-purchase the same items
  
• Collect data on customers' online purchasing habits and adapt sales strategies accordingly
  
• Offer their entire catalogues online
  
• Maintain personal relationships with in-store customers
  
• Adapt to the ever-evolving preferences of modern customers
  
• Stand out from the competition
  

For example, a click-and-mortar business can increase brand loyalty by collecting customer email addresses on its website and then emailing customers directly to invite them to in-store events.

How can businesses develop omnichannel sales strategies?

To develop a consistent omnichannel sales strategy, businesses can do the following:

• Invest in the infrastructure and technology necessary to create a comprehensive click-and-mortar model (e.g. synchronise sales channels, facilitate access to customer information and online and in-store transactions, update inventory)
  
• Offer multiple payment methods, such as instalment payments, mobile payments and buy now, pay later
  
• Ensure that transactions and customer data are secure
  
• Offer reliable customer service and fast delivery
  
• Refine search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies
  
• Develop an innovative sales strategy by email, social media, etc.
  

Businesses should offer sales at the same time across all channels and include the addresses of physical shops in customer emails.

Examples of click-and-mortar businesses in France

An excellent example of a click-and-mortar business in France is Fnac Darty, a European distributor of media, electronics, household appliances and services. Fnac Darty has grown its online business while continuing to operate physical shops nationwide.

Similarly, Carrefour lets customers shop for groceries online or pick them out in person at a physical shop. With IKEA's "Click and Collect" service, customers can order items online and pick them up anytime in-store.

How Stripe Connect can help

Stripe Connect orchestrates money movement across multiple parties for software platforms and marketplaces. It offers quick onboarding, embedded components, global payouts, and more.

Connect can help you:

• Launch in weeks: Use Stripe-hosted or embedded functionality to go live faster and avoid the up-front costs and development time usually required for payment facilitation.
  
• Manage payments at scale: Use tooling and services from Stripe so you don't have to dedicate extra resources to margin reporting, tax forms, risk, global payment methods or onboarding compliance.
  
• Grow globally: Help your users reach more customers worldwide with local payment methods and the ability to easily calculate sales tax, value-added tax (VAT) and goods and services tax (GST).
  
• Build new lines of revenue: Optimise payment revenue by collecting fees on each transaction. Monetise Stripe's capabilities by enabling in-person payments, instant payouts, sales tax collection, financing, expense cards, and more on your platform.
  

Learn more about Stripe Connect or get started today.