What does store to web to store mean?

It describes shopping journeys that move between physical and digital channels: researching online and buying in store, ordering a missing size in store for delivery, buying online and collecting or returning in a shop.

Common journeys

• Web to store: the shopper checks stock online and buys in the shop.
• Click and collect: the shopper pays online and picks up in store.
• Endless aisle: the shop orders an out-of-stock item for home delivery.
• Store to web: the shopper sees a product in store and buys it later online.
• Return anywhere: an online purchase is returned in a physical store.

What makes them work

Shared stock data, shared customer profiles and payments that are linked across channels. A return in store needs to find the original online payment to refund it. Click and collect needs payment flows that authorize at order time and capture at pickup or shipment.

Why it matters

Shoppers expect to move freely between channels. When systems are not linked, they meet friction: refunds only in the original channel, missing stock information, or having to pay again.

What it means for payment operators

For your merchants, these journeys depend on payments that work the same in store and online. Shared tokens, authorization and capture at different moments, and referenced refunds across channels are the pieces that make them possible.