It's been 17 years since Tracie Ellis began her linen and homewares brand Aura - but only this month has she opened a bricks and mortar store.
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With our ability to scroll, click and buy in an instant comes a perception that shoppers prefer the comfort of their couches over the real-life retail experience.
But some established and burgeoning online retailers are trying their hand at opening physical stores with one goal in mind - community connection.
"Sometimes when we go forward so far into this online world, it's really nice to step back, go back into bricks and mortar and communities and create special places," Ms Ellis says.
After an online store, hundreds of stockists and countless cushions, Ms Ellis opened her first shop in an ivy-covered corner store in Malvern.
"Malvern Road is beautiful, we've got a fabulous clientele around here," Ms Ellis says. "It's really nice to be part of a local community."
A recent Pricewaterhouse Coopers report on consumer shopping habits showed Australians still prefer to shop in store for most items - particularly homewares and furniture, with 70 per cent choosing to buy from a physical shop.
"We've still got a lot of customers who like to touch and feel product," Ms Ellis says. "There's definitely a customer who still wants to go to a physical store. I think it's all about being inspired."
Across town, gift store and workshop space Think Thornbury co-owner Maggie May Kus opened a High Street shop with partner Josh Kelly in June.
"We found the studio space and the shop and it was just so beautiful and we went 'well if we don't do this for our community, who else will do it?'" Ms Kus says.
She ran online macrame business Middle Aisle for three years, and it was the catalyst for opening a physical space. The shop is not just somewhere to buy gifts and homewares, but a space for the community to gather and learn from local artists.
"It's the opportunity to communicate to our customer that 'you can come in and try this too'; it's not just this really distant thing that you just see on a computer and you can't connect with," Ms Kus says.
University of Melbourne associate professor of urban planning Alan March says shopping strips where retailers hold innovative events tended to thrive and attract more people.
"These kinds of things really activate a space," Professor March says. "It's a great connection into community and sort of a new way of going back to grass roots."
He says suburbs with walkable shopping strips foster social connections and have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of residents.
"When we don't have that we become an unaccountable face in the crowd, rather than someone who will take on responsibility."
Ms Kus says she's seen people come into her store from all over Melbourne, largely thanks to her nearly 18,000-strong Instagram following.
"We wouldn't have be able to open the shop had I not been doing Middle Aisle online," she says. "But you can read reviews online and get recommendations, but it's still not the same as being able to talk to someone in the store."
Furniture retailer Matt Blatt got its start online and was one of the first Australian stores to sell furniture on Ebay back in 2000. It now has 11 bricks and mortar stores across the country and will open a 12th in Blackburn next month.
General manager Joel Drexler says the multi-store retailer is all about creating experiences for their customers, whether in store treasure hunts or giving away avocados for a "smashing prices to so you can afford smashed avo" sale.
"We try to create an entertaining experience rather than just a shop with a whole lot of furniture in it," Mr Drexler says.
He says though having an online presence is important, the physical stores are worth investing in for the connection with customers.
"It's getting the word out there about who we are - it's not just opening stores to sell sofas - it's opening more stores to show off our product and give people a fun experience," he says.
