Does URL structure really matter to users?

I have seen a bunch of answers regarding URL structure and SEO. However, I would like to know does URL structure really matter to users?

For example, if I have:
Parentsite.com/brand1
Parentsite.com/brand2

Vs

Brand1.com
Brand2.com

Do users really care if I point them to parentsite.com/brand1 vs brand1.com if the brands are all somewhat related?

By looking at larger sites like Google or Amazon, it doesn't seem like URLs matter as long as you have a decent navigation and search capability. For example, a lot of google websites are just google.com/site_name. However, I have also seen a lot of articles that imply a structure like that isn't standard if you have different brands.