In an age where you can get virtually anything - live ladybirds, a dog-drying bag, a flat-pack house - delivered straight to your door in less than 24 hours, there's less and less need to brave department stores and shopping centres.
Amazon, the e-commerce site founded by now multi-billionaire Jeff Bezos in 1994, has been accused of aiding the demise of the Great British High Street.
The undeniable convenience of online shopping - coupled with alarmingly high business rates - means that many small businesses can only dream of having a proper bricks and mortar shop.
But all that might be about to change with the launch of Amazon's Clicks and Mortar scheme, launched in partnership with Enterprise Nation.
The pilot programme will see ten Clicks and Mortar pop-up shops open across the UK, giving more than 100 online brands the chance to grow their high street presence.
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The first place to receive one of these stores is Manchester, opened on June 3 and here for six weeks.
The online retail giant has stepped in to a prime city centre unit on St Mary's Gate, where neighbours include Marks & Spencer, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, and is offering pitches to a dozen sellers at a time.
Every business in the new Manchester store is one that benefits from having a physical presence - how do you buy a candle without sniffing it, choose an organic ketchup without tasting it, find the right shade of concealer without testing it on your actual face?
Clicks and Mortar will be in Manchester until mid-July, though with most sellers only around for two weeks at a time, time is running out to shop from the current range, which includes quality scooters aimed at adults, luxury leather phone cases and bags, and bunion-friendly high heels.
Among the current roster is Mancunian Alex Doyle, 24, owner of Altr, which specialises in skincare and cosmetics for men - and tutorials to help master make-up techniques.
Alex came up with the idea when he was studying history at Warwick University and struggling with acne - then decided to launch the business properly straight out of uni.
"I was struggling with acne and spots, and when you're at uni, you're going out a lot and you're always on display. Now that there's Snapchat, Instagram, you're always on camera. It's quite easy to feel self-conscious about that sort of stuff.
"It wasn't that I'd thought, 'I don't want to wear make-up because it's for girls', it was just that it had never even occurred to me. When a friend of mine recommended her concealer it was the start of things, but it wasn't quite right for my skin type."
The range includes concealers and a light foundation as well as whiskey-infused face washes and moisturisers, with most items costing between £10 and £15.
Everything at Altr is aimed at the type of skin most common in men, featuring ingredients such as Supreme China Clay that helps to draw out grime and dirt, and a thicker consistency to suit tougher skin.
"We'd been looking for a pop-up opportunity anyway when Enterprise Nation approached us," Alex says. "It's been good. We've had people just coming in to say hi and try the products out, or who have seen us on Facebook and weren't sure where to start with shades and skin type."
Here for the full duration of the Clicks and Mortar pop-up is Tim Runde-Wood, with his brand Twoodle Co.
If you notice that the space smells heavenly, he is to thank.
Tim identified a need for all-natural home scents - reed diffusers, candles and sprays - after his dog Henry went into toxic shock after sniffing a synthetic reed diffuser.
He has a picture of Henry on his stall - a shaggy brown-and-white Spanish Water Dog - and pats it proudly.
"There are 4000 chemicals that can be legally hidden under words like 'fragrance' and 'parfum'," Tim said.
"Having this opportunity has allowed me access to get on to Amazon as a seller, and so that's going to allow me to expand my audience. I'd like to have my own shop by the end of the year."
People have travelled from as far as Sheffield to see Jennifer Bailey, owner of Calla, in the flesh, with her range of fashion-focused women's shoes for what she describes as 'problem feet'.
After struggling with bunions for years, she decided it was high time women could have a nice pair of shoes without being in pain.
"It causes issues if you're trying to buy shoes - real issues. If you're going on a night out in Manchester or you're off to a wedding, trying to find a pair of heels is so hard.
"Heels aren't made for problem feet, or feet in general really. I just wanted to make shoes that fit my feet but about a third of women suffer with bunions, of varying sizes.
"I've got a young family so I launched as an online business. It just seemed like the best way to reach as many people with problem feet as possible, and I've sold to women in over 40 countries.
"But it is good when people can try shoes on and see them for themselves. This [Clicks and Mortar] has worked out really well. I just posted that I was doing it and people from all over the area have come in. Someone came from Sheffield yesterday to see me and bought three pairs of shoes!"
Also currently at Clicks and Mortar on St Mary's Gate in Manchester is Torro (luxury leather phone cases, laptop bags and other leather goods); Swifty Scooters (premium fold-able kick scooters for adults); Foraging Fox (beetroot ketchups and natural mayo); Pic's Peanut Butter (top-quality nut butter from New Zealand); iQual Tech (headphones and speakers); and Coconut Merchant (ethical coconut oils and sweeteners).
Clicks and Mortar is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm and Sunday, 12pm to 4pm.
