pronunciation of "...boutiques en..."

Question

Why is it that the ending /s/ in "boutiques", in this sentence "mais toutes les BOUTIQUES EN ligne sont en rupture de stock", is not pronounced before the next vowel /e/ in "en"?

So it was pronounced like /boutiQUE-en/, rather than /boutiqueS-en/ which is what I expected.

Is it just a style? I find it hard to know when I'm supposed to pronounce the /s/, or /x/ at the end of a word if it comes before a vowel, and when I don't.

Accepted Answer

Hi Katie, 
There is no difference in pronunciation between une boutique, des boutiques, les boutiques in that we don't pronounce the final -s in the plural 
You wouldn't liaise either when followed by a vowel as it sounds very pompous ( 'elevated language' ) and not suitable for this kind of situation.
Hope this helps!

Answer

Thank you Cécile! It's my assumption as an Anglophone then.