Greg Owens, VP, International, Pinterest says its time to put the “Bricks vs Clicks” debate to bed.

Over the past few years, the technology industry encouraged us to think in opposites. Online would replace offline. Ecommerce would eclipse the high street. Digital convenience would steadily make physical shops less relevant. The implicit promise was that progress meant frictionless substitution: fewer shops, fewer journeys, fewer real-world intermediaries, more life conducted through a screen.

And the results, according to many, is a significant decline in the number and look of physical shopping spaces. Or to put it more bluntly, our high streets are sinking to new lows. But the internet, deployed in the right way, can be the high street’s salvation.

A recent analysis of Ordnance Survey and Landmark Information data by The Guardian, found there were at least 8,000 fewer retail outlets in 2025 than in 2019, as traditional shopping faltered and new types of businesses such as vape shops and slot machine arcades moved in.

Slightly more than 1,000 department stores remain on UK high streets, down from more than 1,700 six years ago. Opticians have reduced their presence by 12 per cent, and the number of clothing shops has fallen by 13 per cent, while florists are down 24 per cent and stationers are down by 23 per cent.

The internet is often listed as a key driver for this decline but there are multiple factors at play such as rising business rates, rent hikes and an ongoing cost of living crisis. In my opinion the “bricks vs clicks” debate is way too simplistic and outdated.

Taken together, physical stores and digital shop windows offer a solution to towns and cities that is hard to beat.

Retailers and technology platforms need each other to drive success

For a start the physical vs online, no longer reflects how people actually live, shop or make decisions. Consumers do not move through the world in neat categories. For example, Pinterest is the digital equivalent of Oxford Street’s shop windows with 640 million people coming for inspiration. Here they can browse, discover, compare, save their preferences and shop.

Given half the chance, after finding something online they would often go visit or experience the products they’ve discovered in real life in a bricks and mortar store. The winners in commerce and technology are not the businesses that force a choice between physical and digital, but the ones that combine both.

Retailers must reach and inspire their customers in positive places

Too many tech platforms are optimised to capture and monetise attention rather than sharpen intent or take action in the real world. They still act as though the ideal user journey is one in which the customer never leaves the app, feed, or transaction loop.

Three years ago we changed the direction of Pinterest from one that was focused on time spent to one where time is ‘well’ spent. What we found is that one small word can create a positive user experience, renew a business’ focus and actually drive substantial user and revenue growth. Research from MAGNA found that platforms that are viewed as positive can be up to 94 per cent more impactful in driving purchase intent when compared to non-positive spaces.

Today’s retailers help consumers move from online experiences to real-life action

People come to Pinterest to plan what’s next, whether that’s decorating a home, updating their wardrobe or cooking a dinner recipe. With over 80 billion searches every month and around 50 per cent commercial in nature, Pinterest is increasingly where people search and discover ideas that turn into real-world purchases, store visits and experiences.

Seen this way, our recent decision to put our new London HQ in the retail heartland of Oxford Street makes strategic sense. If you believe digital and physical commerce are rivals, then Oxford Street looks symbolic or eccentric. If you believe the future belongs to businesses that connect the two, then it looks entirely logical.

We’re neighbours with renowned brands such as Primark, John Lewis and Samsung, and we partner with them to bring their products to life on Pinterest and drive business online and their stores on high streets around the UK. For example, last summer, Primark launched its first Pinterest-inspired Home collection and during launch week, the business saw a 115 per cent uplift in store sales compared with the previous week.

Similarly campaigns with John Lewis achieved a 10.3 per cent sales lift and Samsung delivered a 17.2 per cent increase in checkout conversions. That is a different kind of digital value bridging online discovery and offline commerce.

The next stage of digital business will not be won simply by whoever builds the most immersive platform or captures the most minutes of attention. It will increasingly belong to companies that understand how digital tools that are action oriented, improve real-world decision-making and participation. In commerce, that means connecting search, taste, trust and fulfillment more intelligently. It means encouraging action rather than passive consumption.

That should matter to policymakers and business leaders alike. The future of city centres will not come from nostalgia for a pre-digital high street, nor from surrender to the idea that everything meaningful now happens online. It will come from recognising that the most valuable platforms can drive people towards better use of physical spaces, better engagement with brands, and more intentional forms of consumption.

For too long, the tech industry has framed innovation as a process of replacing the physical world. A more mature vision is now emerging: the best digital products do not sever us from real life, but send us back into it better informed, more decisive and more likely to act.

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