Has e-commerce killed the high street? Online sales are rising, but 70% of UK students still prefer brick-and-mortar stores. The issue is confused. In an attempt to crack it, we sat down with retail expert John Ryan to ask how and why stores can retain their custom.

Have you ever layered up a few coats of Trust Fund Beauty nail polish? It comes in plenty of shades, from ‘Boy Tears’ to ‘Insta-famous’. It's one in a number of Insta-born beauty brands that are stocked at # – a New York-based beauty store that only stocks products sourced on Instagram.

Buying clothes in-store can be a hassle, impeded by long queues and limited stock. But seeing potential purchases in person provides a far richer experience than e-commerce. So why not have the best of both worlds – trying on items in-store but skipping the queues and ordering online?

The Chinese phrase guang jie (‘window shopping’) is relatively new, along with the overall concept of shopping for leisure in China, which has grown with the country’s wealth. But the uptake of shopping in the internet era is stalling the growth of brick-and-mortar retail.