Bricks To Clicks: Move Your Store Online (2026)

Retail today is tougher to navigate than in years past. Independent retailers have to juggle rising material and utility costs, omnichannel consumers, and higher expectations for convenience. 

A bricks to clicks strategy can help you build a unified commerce model where online and in-store work together in harmony. 

Since ecommerce is forecast to make up 22.5% of worldwide retail sales by 2028, keeping your brand offline is not an option. The fastest way online is to launch a Shopify storefront that supports local pickup and delivery, then expand from there. 

Ahead, you’ll learn how to bring a brick-and-mortar business online and use Shopify’s resources to manage the process with ease. 

What is the bricks and clicks business model?

Bricks and clicks means combining a physical store with an online store so customers can browse, buy, and return on any channel. Inventory, pricing, and customer data stay aligned across both, creating a seamless shopping experience with options like buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) and buy in-store, ship to home.

Six years ago, bricks and clicks may have seemed like a passing trend, but today it’s the standard for being in retail. Digital sales continue to climb each year. Retailers winning in the market are those who are treating their website and physical stores as two doors into the same room. 

Customers rarely stay on a single channel when shopping anymore. They might discover a product on TikTok, visit your store to see it in person, and then purchase it on your website a week later.

When brands like Offbeat Bikes adopt this commerce strategy, they save time on inventory each month and increase sales by 100% to 400% across various product categories. 

“Shopify allows me to do what I actually care about most, which is making sure my customers are having a great experience when they’re interacting with my shop in any way, whether that’s online or through social media or when they come by in person,” says Mandalyn Renicker, owner of Offbeat Bikes.

That’s just one example. Here’s how it can look for a retailer on any given day:

• The endless aisle. A customer finds a style they love in-store, but you don’t have their size in stock. Thankfully, you can still process the order on the floor and have the correct size shipped to their home.
• Curbside pick-up. Regulars place their weekly order at your specialty grocery store online. Staff pick the items during morning hours, and the customer swings by in the afternoon to pick them up. Gone are long checkout lines and wait times in-store.
• The showroom effect. A customer scans a QR code on a floor display to see more colors or assembly videos. They buy online for home delivery right there. You now can sell large furniture without taking up space in your store’s backroom. 
• Upselling. A parent buys a baseball bat online for in-store pick-up. When they arrive, your associate suggests grip tape or a bag to enhance the product experience.

Understanding the difference between bricks and clicks and other retail models

Nomenclature aside, bricks and clicks is fundamentally different from other digital commerce strategies.

📚 Read: Retail vs. Ecommerce: How Are They Different?

At the end of the day, bricks to clicks is an omnichannel retail strategy. It’s based on the principle that a customer has the same experience regardless of how and where they shop. If a customer buys something online, they should be able to walk into your store and exchange it without hassle.

The future of retail belongs to those who can move the fastest and adapt most seamlessly. Using tools like Shopify POS, retailers can effectively execute a bricks to clicks strategy and ensure their business is ready for whatever 2026 and beyond might bring. 

Why move your brick-and-mortar business online?

Retailers hold back from implementing a bricks-to-clicks strategy due to the challenges of managing both digital and physical stores. But customers don’t see it that way—they only notice when you’re not in their social media feeds or showing up in search engines. 

It’s not just about having a website. The point of moving your business online is to meet customers where they already are and earn more revenue. 

Here are a few more benefits to convince you:

• You can capture growing demand. A fifth of all retail money is flowing to online channels. Without an online store, you are handing over market share to competitors with a smooth digital experience. 
• You can connect with more shoppers. Gen Z shoppers don’t see a line between online and offline anymore. According to 2025 Deloitte research, 64% of Gen Z use social media to research products, yet 73% still shop in person weekly. Being online protects the future sales and credibility of your physical store. 
• You can offer convenient pickup and delivery options. You don’t have to become a national shipping giant overnight. With Shopify, you can easily offer local fulfillment options that make you the fastest, most convenient option for neighbors looking to buy your products. 
• You can build a more resilient operation. Relying only on foot traffic is risky, because you’re limited by customers who live or work within a few miles of your door. An online store creates a second home for your business so you can keep selling during a week of slow foot traffic or bad weather. 
• You can offer faster checkout options. A complicated ecommerce checkout is one of the biggest killers of a sale. Accelerated payment options like Shop Pay let customers save their information and check out with one tap.

Start with a small rollout. You don’t need to put your whole warehouse online on day one. Launch with a curated selection of your bestsellers and perfect your pickup and delivery promises 100% accurate. Once you are dialed in, you can expand your product offering and services. 

How to create an ecommerce store in 7 steps 

Taking your business online might feel like a big leap, but the first steps are surprisingly easy. With a dedicated ecommerce platform for small businesses, you can get a store up and running in a day. 

1. Start a Shopify free trial

The first step is to create your online store where you can test the Shopify platform with a free trial period before you start selling online.

Here you’ll choose your store name, which will become the URL or domain name that your customers will use to shop from your store. You can start with a Basic plan, which includes Sidekick, Shopify’s built-in AI assistant. Sidekick is a workflow tool to help you navigate the admin and tackle setup tasks. 

Note: You’ll need to add your credit card or PayPal address to get started. Since you’re on a free trial, you won’t be billed for the duration of the trial period, and Shopify will send you a reminder before your trial ends.

To get up and running faster, take advantage of Shopify’s AI Store Builder. Simply drop in a few keywords and receive design direction and initial copy drafts. 

📚Resources:

• Setting up your online store 
• Checklist to set up your online store
• Use our domain name generator to purchase a domain and set up a new online store.

2. Choose a website theme 

If you’d rather go for a pre-made website, that’s a great option, too. Find the right theme, or website template, for your online store in the Shopify Theme Store. You can start with a free theme built by Shopify, or you can purchase a theme developed by one of our Partners. 

You want synchrony between your brick-and-mortar store and online presence, so try browsing themes by collection or industry and choosing one that best fits your brand. Shopify Themes are built using top-tier user experience design principles and are mobile-responsive, so you don’t have to worry about any additional setup. 

“What I liked the most was the different choices of layouts. There were a lot of them and they felt clean and simplified for the user,” says Ryan Lagasse, founder of Little Lamb. For Lagasse, the biggest advantage was the accessibility. 

“It also felt like something that I could navigate as a person who’s not a web designer or developer.”

Of course, no theme is restricted to any industry, and you can always customize your theme later. 

3. Prep your essential ecommerce pages

The faster you make your online store available, the sooner customers will be able to continue purchasing your products. 

Focus on the basics: Make sure your store features recognizable aspects of your business (like your logo and brand colors) and makes it easy for people to browse and buy.

No need to worry about the frills. Your priority is to get your products online and sell your in-store inventory. 

Here are the web pages we recommend creating before you launch:

Homepage

Treat your homepage like your retail storefront. Shoppers use the homepage to discover new offers and promotions, and navigate to product pages. Make it clear what your store sells and why it’s worth buying from you.

Consider including the following elements:

• Clear navigation. Main menus should be concise and obvious, like Shop All, New, Bestsellers, etc. Don’t make shoppers hunt for products. 
• Value proposition. Show off what makes your store the right place to shop. Do you have free returns? Sustainable products? Ship in one day? State it clearly above the fold so shoppers know as soon as they land on your page. 
• Additional information. Include links in the header so shoppers can learn more about your brand and its programs.

Allbirds is a great example here. Notice how the hero image shows off the new Dasher NZ shoe in use. It also points out a value proposition, that the shoe is made from trees. The copy also supports other reasons to explore the shoe, such as that it is comfortable and natural. 

Shipping FAQ

Recent supply chain challenges have been affecting shipping services in unpredictable ways, so your customers may have a few shipping-related questions for you. 

Create a shipping FAQ that answers common questions about:

• Shipping costs. Share how you choose shipping rates. Whether it’s flat, carrier-calculated, or a free shipping threshold, explain the method before they reach the checkout screen.
• Delivery times. Share your processing time and transit time separately. For example, you can say “Orders process in 1-2 business days. Delivery times start after shipment.” 
• Package tracking. Explain how and when tracking information is sent. FedEx’s 2025 ecommerce trends report found that real-time package tracking is a top priority for 68% of customers.

Data from parcelLab’s 2025 eCommerce Shipping Experience Study found that 28% of retailers fail to email customers when a package is actually delivered, and only 66% show an exact delivery date on product pages. Be better with Shopify by sending confirmation emails automatically when orders are out for delivery and delivered. This will also reduce support tickets from customers asking, “Where is my order?” 

Return and exchange policy

A written return policy allows you to establish clear, consistent guidelines for how customers can replace or refund their purchase. Dealing with return and exchange requests on a case-by-case basis isn’t sustainable, and can add unnecessary complexity (and cost) to your operation.

Contact Us

A good Contact Us page sets the right expectations with customers and makes it clear where and when they can reach you. Consider including a map of your store location for local shoppers, as well as a contact form so people don’t have to leave your website to get in touch with you.

Product pages

Your product pages are where you sell the value of your products, so it’s important to make them detailed and compelling. Below we’ve listed resources to help you build high-converting product pages, write compelling product descriptions, and shoot good-looking product photography with the tools you have available.

📚Resources: 

• Complete DIY guide to product photography
• Must-know tips for optimizing your images
• How to write product descriptions that sell
• How to optimize product pages

4. Add your products

Adding your products can take some time if you have a large catalog, but there are ways to quickly get started. We’ve recently rolled out updates to make this process faster and easier, and we’re now offering free data migration services for customers launching their online store for the first time. 

Here are a few ways you can add products: 

• Bulk upload from your Shopify admin. If you’re a Shopify customer, you can do a simple bulk upload of your inventory into Shopify. 
• Use the Shopify mobile app or Shopify POS. If you haven’t been up to date with your inventory, use the Shopify mobile app and take pictures of your products with your mobile device’s camera, and add them to your online store, all in one simple workflow.
• Use a POS data migration service. For those of you who aren’t using Shopify POS for your brick-and-mortar store, this service will help you migrate your POS data into Shopify’s platform. Migrations are available for most POS systems, including Lightspeed, Square, QuickBooks, Vend, Shopkeep, and more.

💡Tip: List your in-store inventory first. If you have a SKU-heavy business and the thought of adding your entire catalogue feels daunting, use your inventory management or reporting tool to identify top-performing products and upload those first. If you don’t have a system in place, perform ABC analysis instead to identify your best products. 

📚Resources:

• How to add, update, and edit products

5. Set up gift cards

Selling digital gift cards is one of the fastest ways for a brick-and-mortar business to start selling online and secure immediate cash flow. 

Here’s how it works:

• You create a digital gift card.
• Customers can then buy and pay for gift cards through your new online store.
• Purchased gift cards are then delivered to your customers by email.
• All active gift cards can be tracked and managed in Shopify as customers redeem them in the future.
• As you launch new products that can be purchased online or make your products available for local delivery or pickup, customers can redeem gift cards at checkout. By default, the gift cards you create never expire.

💡Tip: Make your gift card program discoverable by submitting it to community directories that organize offers from local businesses. For example, the town of Cornwall, Ontario, set up the Main Street gift card directory, and is encouraging the community to purchase local gift certificates for future use. 

6. Set up shipping

Shoppers value flexibility and speed with shipping. If you create an affordable and seamless experience for them, with reliable delivery options, you’ll win them over and earn their repeat business. 

Here is how to set up a shipping experience for your store. 

Keep shipping costs down

Shipping costs can quickly eat away at independent retailers’ margins, so be strategic about the way you approach shipping and fulfillment. 

Here are a few suggestions: 

• Opt for manual shipping. Print labels, send shipping notifications, track every part of your orders, and manually fulfill orders where possible.
• Skip the fancy packaging. You can get free packaging from major couriers in the United States (USPS, DHL Express, and UPS) and Canada (Canada Post).
• Set up local delivery. You now can give nearby customers the ability to select local delivery at checkout. When you enable local delivery from your shipping settings, you can define the delivery area and price that best suit your business. You can then track and manage all local orders from your Shopify admin.

Try Shopify Shipping

Shopify Shipping works with USPS, UPS, and DHL in the United States, and Canada Post in Canada, and offers multiple mail classes with each carrier. That gives you access to features like overnight delivery, package pick-ups, tracking information, international shipping, and more, depending on the carrier and mail class you choose.

We’ve also worked with carriers directly to negotiate competitive rates for each shipping service, and those rates are automatically included on every plan at no extra cost to you.

Set up curbside pickup for local customers 

Curbside pickup allows your local customers to buy something online and pick it up outside your store—without ever having to leave their car. This drive-through option not only minimizes person-to-person interactions, it’s also faster and reduces shipping costs. 

Here are the steps for curbside pickup:

1. The customer places the order and pays you online through your new online store.
2. The order confirmation is emailed to you, so you can prepare it safely.
3. You notify the customer when the order is ready for pickup.
4. Your customer drives to your store and pops their trunk.
5. You safely place their order in their trunk.

📚Resources:

• Set up curbside pick up for your brick-and-mortar business 

7. Set up payments

Payment methods are directly tied to conversion rates.

In a 2025 survey of 1,031 consumers, 16% reported abandoning checkout specifically because their preferred payment method wasn’t available. Another study by Stripe found that surfacing one relevant payment method beyond cards (like Shop Pay or Apple Pay) increased conversion by 7.4% and revenue by 12% on average. 

There are a few things to consider when you’re choosing which payment methods to offer online. If you want to let your customers pay using a credit card, then you can use Shopify Payments or a third-party provider. 

There are also several ways for customers to pay online without using a credit card, like PayPal, Amazon Pay, and Apple Pay. Finally, accelerated checkouts like Shop Pay save shipping and payment information for returning customers to help them check out faster. 

Read these considerations and instructions to make sure you choose the right payment methods for your business.

Let shoppers know your brand is open for business 

After you’ve set up your online store, your first priority is to inform current customers that you’re open for business. Here’s how to announce that you’ve launched an online store, along with a few places you can likely reach your customers: 

Email your customers

Have you collected customers’ emails in-person, through an existing website, or through your point of sale? Now is a good time to stay in regular contact with them, and email provides a direct line to their inbox. To start, let customers know about recent changes, and how they can continue to buy your products or support you with gift card purchases.

Add signage to your storefront

For your local foot traffic, a sign on your door directing shoppers to your online store can be a simple but effective solution for notifying people about your new online store.

Post to social media

If you’re active on social media, add your store’s URL to your Instagram bio, pin a Tweet with your new URL or domain name, and share a status update with a link to your store on your Facebook page.

Add or update local listings

Google Business Profile is a free tool that helps you market your local business in Google Search and Google Maps. For example, you can post your website URL and photos of your products on your Business Profile, which can appear in Google’s search results. You can also list any of your special promotions or offers so customers have a reason to online shop with you.

Announce it on your homepage

Remember, your customers are likely feeling just as isolated and disconnected as you are, so communicate with them often and make it easy for them to get in touch with you. Independent retailers rely on the personal connections they develop with their loyal customers, so the contact page should serve as a reminder to your customers that you’re still there for them.

Track traffic and sales

Use Shopify Analytics to monitor sales, orders, and online store visitor data. That way, it’ll be clear which sales channels are driving revenue.

Illustration by Gracia Lam