IELTS Speaking Part 1: Topic Online shopping

In this post, we discuss about “Topic Online shopping” with sample answers. 

IELTS Speaking Part 1 – Topic: Online shopping

1. Do you enjoy shopping?

I do. It’s not that I’m obsessed with fashion or something. I enjoy the activity itself. You know. I like wandering around shopping malls, trying on clothes that I normally wouldn’t wear, and laughing with my friends because of the stupid look I’ve created. I also like shopping for groceries. Whenever I walk into a grocery store, it’s the instant feeling of freshness that always excites me. Of course. I like to go shopping with my friends. Sometimes, I don’t buy anything and just go round and round shopping malls.

2. What do you shop for?

Most of the time, I buy clothes. I get bored easily so I always want to see a new me every day. That’s why I buy a lot of clothes so I never have to wear the same outfit for a whole month. Bad habit I know.

3. How often do you go shopping?

Almost every weekend. But usually, I don’t plan ahead. I’m a very spontaneous person and my shopping habit reflects that perfectly. There are so many times when I just walked past a nice dress in a store and decided that I had to have it so I bought it without a second thought.

4. Where do you usually shop?

I don’t have any certain place to shop at. Well, I did when I was in the U.S. I always went to Abercrombie’s and Hollister’s to shop for clothes. Their clothes are high quality and look super chic. Just what I like. But there are no retail stores here in Vietnam though.

5. Do you like online shopping?

Yes, I’m a fan. For somebody that doesn’t know how to drive like me, online shopping is wonderful. It’s so convenient because I can lie on my bed and shop with my phone. A lot of retailers now have the 2-day or even 2-hour delivery option, which saves me so much time and is just awesome.

6. What sites do you shop on?

I usually shop on websites like tiki and lazada. Some foreign companies have jumped into our market as well, like Lazada and Shopee. Those are the sites I usually shop on. I actually do Amazon too. For Amazon, most of the time, I just transfer money to my friends in the U.S to purchase what I want for me because I don’t want to spend extra for shipping.

7. What are some problems of shopping online?

First, it’s false advertisement. I bought a dress online and on delivery, it looked completely different from the photo posted on the website. It was such a disturbing experience. But that was a few years ago when there were not a lot of online retailers competing with each other. Now that there are a bunch of them, it’s very easy to find trustworthy ones. Another concern is information security. You can be a victim of identity theft or risk compromising your credit card.

8.What kinds of things do people in your country often buy from online shops?

Well, since the booming of online shopping, literally everyone in my country takes part in e-commerce both as sellers and customers. As you can probably guess, there are a variety of products sold on online platforms, ranging from food, clothes, cosmetics to household appliances. As far as I know, food and clothes rank the highest among the most popular goods on these platforms.

9. Why has online shopping become so popular in many countries?

As far as I know, online shopping made a name for itself quite a while ago, but in the past 3 years, thanks to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce finally reached its peak. I believe that people go crazy for online shopping for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is undeniable that online shopping is really convenient and easy to use, especially for the elderly. Secondly, online platforms often offer customers big discounts during the month, which sounds really promising and appealing, as they could get what they need at a seemingly lower price in comparison with those in physical stores.

10. What are some possible disadvantages of buying things from online shops?

To be honest, although e-commerce is said to pose a threat to other forms of businesses, it goes without saying that online shopping still has numerous drawbacks that are somehow barriers to the prosperous growth of it. First and foremost, people could be scammed easily by irresponsible retailers, causing anger and discomfort to customers. Moreover, delay in delivery is also a common disadvantage for those who enjoy going shopping online, as the package may take longer to arrive than expected by just going to the store or it could get lost after being shipped.