There’s a lot to like about online shopping. Whether it’s the huge range of merchandise available, the lower prices, the incredible convenience, or the fact that it comes right to your door—throw in mobile payments’ addition and it becomes even more convenient because you can shop from anywhere—there’s a lot to like in online shopping.

Online shopping has long had one Achilles’ heel in the form of shipping, and recent word is suggesting that online commerce may ultimately lose out to offline thanks to the weight of shipping costs.

Amazon recently raised the minimum order required to get free shipping for non-Prime members, reaching $49 dollars for a minimum price unless buying books.

Some consider this a move to drive greater Prime membership—not out of line, and frankly, worth it thanks to not only the shipping but also the streaming video and other benefits—and one that may ultimately keep people out of Amazon as they now pay for something they’d rather not have, to prevent having to pay for something that used to be available free.

This is especially disconcerting as gas prices drop to their lowest levels in decades, but with the USPS hiking prices as well, it’s a move that really can’t be overlooked.

Will this be enough to keep those shoppers out of the fray altogether, returning to brick-and-mortar shops? That’s not so outlandish, especially given how brick-and-mortar has worked to recover its losses in the field against online commerce.

More likely, however, is that brick-and-mortar and online will instead more closely combine. Instead of shopping that delivers to your door, and charges heavily for it, the online shop will ship to a local store instead, where the shopper will take care of the last mile.

This is actually not a bad idea. Perhaps less convenient, but the kind of thing that keeps locals employed as well. Instead of stores closing in the face of online competition, online competitors can open small storefronts and hire locals to handle shipments.

It’s an idea that brings together the immediacy of brick-and-mortar with the savings and variety of online shopping. Whatever form online shopping—or brick-and-mortar—takes in the end, it’s likely to be somewhat different from what we know and love today.