Imagine Holly Golightly, heroine of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. She’s wearing her iconic black dress and gloves with pearls, tiara and sunglasses, coffee and pastry in hand. She jumps into a cab to seek the calm refuge of the windows at Tiffany & Co., because nothing bad could happen to her at that temple to order and shopping.

But wait. What’s this? The Tiffany & Co. flagship store isn’t there anymore? It has become an online retailer instead?

This scenario may be unlikely, as Tiffany & Co. continues to operate brick-and-mortar locations even as it rolls out its online component, but it is happening to shops worldwide. E-commerce is taking over.

Shoppers go online

“The popularity of e-commerce has grown rapidly over the years, and it is not showing signs of slowing down,” says Sebastien Nadeau, senior analyst, global real estate securities, at Presima. “While physical store retail sales are barely growing,