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However, for the year 2004, there has been a remarkable downfall in the return of investment among companies who started out through the Internet. The Internet 'bubble' (pertaining to the rapidly expanding organizations and companies launching their sites through the Internet) has finally burst; and many dot com companies have experienced profit loss, bankruptcy, and eventually sold out to bigger companies or have foiled and ceased to exist in the Internet business world. From the experience of dot com companies, brick-and-mortar companies -- that is, businesses that were established initially through the traditional establishment and institutionalization of a company in the business sector -- have proven that they are stronger and more capable of handling fluctuations in the market of goods and services than the dot coms.

What made the brick-and-mortar companies stronger than the dot coms is that they have a loyal following among their customers. This means that the former has become an institution and has established a tradition that dot coms cannot compete with; the vast number of dot com companies has also made it impossible for them to create a following of customers or capture at least a specific segment of the consumer market. In effect, Internet sites promoting goods and services of the brick-and-mortar companies served as supplementary promotional medium through which they can further extend their services to include customers outside the U.S.

Apart from the importance of customers in determining the strength of business companies, it is also vital that business companies have the financial resource to consider itself competent against the brick-and-mortar companies. This means that apart from consumer confidence, dot com companies must also have the companies of essential financial institutions, which support companies in financing important projects that will further improve the quality of goods and services offered by the company. Brick-and-mortar companies had not encountered this difficulty, since they have proven themselves capable of financing their projects and paying off whatever loans they have made with financial institutions. The lack of sufficient and tangible assets and credit support of dot com companies hindered them from growing further into a big business; thus, just as small- and medium-sized companies are still making their entry into the market, they have already been dissolved as the growth of Internet companies has reached the saturation point.