Definition: Brick-and-mortar refers to the kind of business that eBay is not—a business built (literally) out of bricks and mortar, i.e. a business establishment with an actual building and address in the real world, usually with walk-in customers and inventory.
The term brick-and-mortar is most often used when discussing traditional businesses in relation to eBay as a specifically online (and relatively new) business model. Note that the two are not mutually exclusive—many brick-and-mortar businesses around the world have successfully integrated eBay buying or selling into their business model in order to increase their success.
