Vox pops of people in Newark
BBC Learning English
Minute English
Online shopping
Rob:Hello, and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm joined
today by Cath. Hi Cath.
Cath:Hello Rob.
Rob:Now we're talking about the growing trendin online shopping today.
Cath:Ah yes, shopping via (через) the internet. That is something I like to do.
Rob:OK, well you're not the only person who likes to shop this way. Millions of people
choose to shop online and last week saw the biggest day of the year for doing this
– it was called Mega Monday. More about that soon but first, I've been looking
online to find you a question Cath!
Cath:Come on then, what is it?
Rob:OK, this week's question is – according to (согласно) an international survey (опрос)what is the most popular item (предмет) that's bought online? Is it:
a) Music – downloaded or on CDs
b) Travel tickets
c) Books
Cath:I'm going to go for books I think.
Rob:Well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the program. But now let's talk more
about shopping and particularly online shopping.
Cath:Yes and you mentioned that last week was Mega Monday or Cyber Monday (кибер) – the
biggest day of the year for online shopping. But people are still going out
shopping in high streets and shopping centres.
Rob:Yes that's right. When we say the high streetwe mean the main shopping street
of the town. These places are actually quite busy at the moment with people
Christmas shopping. In the USA, the recent Thanksgiving holiday marked the
start of the Christmas shopping season there. The day is also known as Black
Friday, where discounts (скидки)are offered in shops – or stores as the Americans call
them.
Cath:It's called Black Friday because it's the day when shops go from being “in the red” –
so owing money (иметь долг)– to being “in the black” – making a profit (делать прибыль) because so many people are going out spending money.
Rob:But we're still talking about online shopping. And online sales are certainly rising (растет)
despite the current economic situation. Let's hear from the BBC's Graham Satchell
reporting on the affects (влияние) of Mega Monday on the high street (главная улица, центр)
in the UK. How does he describe what's happening to the high street?
Graham Satchell, BBC
The high street is really struggling (борется за выживание). For the third Christmas in a row, sales are expected to be down, this year by 2.1%. Instead, more and more of us are shopping online. 25% of all Christmas shopping this year will be done over the Internet, up 16% on last year. And Mega Monday is the busiest day, one estimate suggesting there'll be 3,300 purchases (покупки) a minute.
Cath:So Graham Satchell says the high street is struggling– in other words, the shops
are finding it difficult to stay in business.
Rob:That's because sales are down for the third year in a row. As we heard, a quarter (четверть) of
all Christmas shopping will be done online.
Cath:And last week's Mega Monday saw an estimated (в среднем)3,300 purchases every minute.
So, those transactions (сделки)must add up (добавить) to a lot of money spent using credit cards.
Rob:Yes and it's tempting (искушает) and easy for many people to max out their credit cards – in
other words spend up to their credit limit!
Cath:And it's true that people are becoming more accustomedto buying things online.
Retailersare making it much easier to buy things over the internet. And we can
shop now using gadgets like smart phones and tablet devices (планшеты) so we can buy things
easily and instantly (сразу же). Is that something you've done Rob?
Rob:I do it quite regularly on my smart phone. OK, let's hear from some shoppers (покупатели) in
the English market town of Newark about whether they prefer shopping on the
internet or in the shops:
Vox pops of people in Newark
Have done a lot online. I've got a new-born baby, so it's a lot easier, just sitting at home, doing it.
It's nice and warm and a lot easier.
[What do you like about it?] The variety, the choice, the ease; you can stay at home; you can stay
at home and flick on your iPad.
I've attempted to do it online, today for the first time. But I like to try things on, I like the
atmosphere of going into town and shopping, so I don't think it's my cup of tea.
Rob:So there are some mixed views about online shopping. The first woman thought it
was easier - and warmer too because you can stay at home.
Cath:Yes, and the second person also thought it was convenientbut he also mentioned (упомянуть) the variety and the choice of things to buy. It's true, you can buy almost anything
from your computer.
Rob:Ah yes but the final woman mentioned that you can't try on clothes. She liked the
atmosphere of going into town and shopping. She used a great phrase – she said,
"it's not my cup of tea".
Cath:Yes, she means it's just not for her. Well, it suits me Rob so please could you
hurry up and give me the answer to that question and then I can get back to a bit
more online Christmas shopping.
Rob:OK Cath. But will you be making the most popular online purchase (покупка)? That's the
question I asked you – according to an international poll by The Neilsen Company,
what is the most popular item that is bought online? Is it:
a) Music
b) Travel tickets
c) Books
Cath:I thought it was probably books.
Rob:And you are right. Yes. The survey found that 41% of people surveyed (опрошенные) bought
books online. Clothes, DVDs and airline tickets were among the other popular
items. Have you bought any of those online?
Cath:Yes, I have. I've definitely (определенно, конечно) bought airline tickets, yes, DVDs – all of those things. I think I do a bit too much online shopping!
Rob:It sounds like it! You're very keen (увлечена)! OK Cath, before you get back to your
shopping, we've just time for you to remind (напомнить)us of some of the vocabulary that
we've heard in today's program.
Cath:OK, we had: