BBC Learning English   

6 Minute English 

Online shopping 

8th December 2011 

NB: This is not a word for word transcript 

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 trend in online shopping today.   

Cath:  Ah yes, shopping via 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 an international survey what is the most 

popular item 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 programme. 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 – 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 street we 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 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 – to being in the black – making a profit because so many people 

are going out spending money.  

Rob:  But we're still talking about online shopping. And online sales are certainly rising 

despite the current economic situation. Let's hear from the BBC's Graham Satchell 

reporting on the affects of Mega Monday on the high street in the UK. How does 

he describe what's happening to the high street? 

Graham Satchell, BBC 

The high street is really struggling. 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 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 of 

all Christmas shopping will be done online.   

Cath:  And last week's Mega Monday saw an estimated 3,300 purchases every minute. 

So, those transactions¹ must add up to a lot of money spent using credit cards. 

Rob:  Yes and it's tempting² 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 accustomed to buying things online. 

Retailers³ are making it much easier to buy things over the internet. And we can 

shop now using gadgets⁴ like smart phones and tablet devices so we can buy things 

easily and instantly. Is that something you've done Rob?  

Rob:  I do it quite regularly on my smart phone. OK, let's hear from some shoppers 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 flick⁵ 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 convenient but he also mentioned 

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? That's the 

question I asked you – according to an international poll⁶ 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 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 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!  OK  Cath,  before  you  get  back  to  your 

shopping, we've just time for you to remind us of some of the vocabulary that 

we've heard in today's programme. 

Cath:  OK, we had:  

trend 

the high street  

discounts 

in the black 

struggling 

estimated 

transactions 

accustomed  

retailers 

convenient 

Rob:  Thanks Cath. Please join us again for another 6 Minute English very soon.  Bye.  

Cath:  Bye! 

Vocabulary and definitions 

trend  a general direction in which a situation is developing 

the high street   the main street of a town where most of the shops are 

located 

discounts  amounts  of  money  taken  off  the  full  price  of  things  – 

sometimes used as an incentive to get people to buy them 

in the black  to be in profit (opposite of in the red) 

struggling  trying hard to do something in a difficult situation or when 

there are problems 

estimated  not an exact calculation but an approximate idea of the 

number has been worked out 

transactions  the selling of things from one person to another 

accustomed   to  become  familiar  with  doing  something  so  that  it 

becomes normal or usual 

retailers  people or businesses who sell goods to the public 

convenient  useful, easy or quick to do