bricks and mortar

Bricks and mortar refers to businesses that have physical (rather than virtual or online) presences - in other words, stores (built of physical material such as bricks and mortar) that you can drive to and enter physically to see, touch, and purchase merchandise. This term is used as the basis for the term clicks and mortar, a business that sells products and services on the Web as well as from physical locations.

In an ongoing trend, large businesses that existed before the invention of the Web (and were therefore bricks and mortar businesses) are becoming clicks and mortar businesses. Companies like Amazon.com and others that have never owned a bricks and mortar storefront are generally known as dotcom companies.