Download this IELTS Speaking Lesson PDF
In IELTS Speaking Shopping is a very common topic. It can appear in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
In this lesson, there is lots vocabulary, including collocations, phrasal verbs and idioms, that you need to talk fluently about the topic of shopping in the IELTS Speaking test. You will learn how to talk about your favourite shops, shopping habits and changes in they way we shop.
Keith O'Hare
I have taught over 10,000 students from over 20 different countries worldwide on my online courses, many having passed the exam with a band 7, 8 and even some 9s, so hopefully, I know what I am doing! Enjoy this lesson!
What you will learn
IELTS Speaking Vocabulary: Shopping
Here is some essential language to talk about the IELTS Speaking topic of Shopping
To buy
- to purchase (formal)
- to pick up (informal)
Cheap (adj.)
- inexpensive
- low-priced goods / food
- affordable goods / clothes
Expensive (adj.)
- dear
- costly
A shop (n.) = A store (n.) (US)
To shop (v.)
To shop for clothes / food
To shop around = to look for the best price
To do the weekly shop / shopping = buy food for the whole week
To go shopping for clothes / food
Collocations
A shopping mall / centre
To go window shopping = look in shops without buying
A High-street shop (baker’s, butcher’s newsagents…)
A Corner shop
Retail shops = shops that sells to customers
Wholesale shops = sells to businesses/shops
A One-stop shop = one shop that sells everything you need
To shop till you drop = to shop for hours
Phrasal Verbs
To pay for = to buy
Can I pay for this with cash?
To sell out = to have no more stock
They have sold out of those lovely cup cakes
To set s.o. back = to cost (someone an amount of money)
It set me back about 20 USD
To splash out = to spend a lot of money
I like to splash out on new clothes in the Spring sales
Debates and Discussions about Shopping
Enjoying Shopping
Here are some ideas and language to discuss this issue
It tends to depend on…..
That depends….
I love browsing shops = going from shop to shop
I’m an impulsive shopper = I buy things whenever I feel like it, without planning
I’m a shopaholic = I am (almost) addicted to shopping
I like to window shop, as I don’t have much money to spend on clothes.
I like to see all the different things on display
Aisle (n.) – passageway, corridor (in a shop, church, airplane…)
I like to walk along the aisles in my local supermarket.
The snack aisle is my favourite.
I do, my local supermarket gives us coupons or vouchers that offer discounts to incentivise (=motivate) us shop more
Adverts are ever-more (=increasingly) cunning (clever) and attractive.
The adverts grab my attention / capture my attention
A brick and mortar shop = a physical shop
Online shopping: A good or a bad thing?
Here are some nice phrases you can use to talk fluently about this debate:
Bad Things
It’s an inevitable thing
It’s a shame that so many physical shops are disappearing
So many companies are going out of business due to COVID.
All of the following mean “to go out of business”
- To close down
- To go into liquidation
- To go bankrupt
- To go belly up
Unfortunately we lose the personal touch of chatting and socialising with other shoppers and shop assistants when we shop online
It’s not a good thing as we don’t know which sites to trust.
I am always wary (=careful with) of online payments, I mean you hear of so many scams (=dishonest attempts to get your money), so is it really safe and secure?
Good Things
The rise of online shopping means we can busy things from anywhere in the world, at the click of a button (=immediately)
Online shopping makes the purchase of most things much easier and more convenient.
Online shopping has been a lifesaver during COVID. It’s easy to get anything, even everyday essentials like food.
Online versus offline shopping
Here are some phrases you can use to discuss this issue
- I prefer ____
- I lean towards _____ (=I like/prefer)
- Online shopping saves time. It saves a ton of time.
- It depends on what I am buying
- I like physical shopping because I can try stuff on. (Clothes)
- I like physical shopping because I can try stuff out. (Electronic things)
- I can actually touch the products if I am in a real shop
- Online shopping is much more practical and the delivery is usually pretty quick.
- With the rise of companies like Amazon, then online delivery is very fast nowadays.
- Online shopping is fun, if you like opening boxes.
- I shop online for clothes a lot, but you never know if the size is going to fit, so there is always a bit of a risk.
- Despite the convenience that comes with online shopping I still prefer offline shopping as it enables me to inspect my goods before paying.
Idioms to talk about Shopping
My new bike cost an arm ’n’ a leg = to be expensive
I paid over the odds for it = I paid too much
I paid through the nose = I paid too much
It was going for a song = it’s cheap
I like retail therapy, it cheers me up! = shopping that makes you happy
To talk shop = talk about your work (usually negative)
He is so boring, he is always talking shop at parties.
Students' Questions about Shopping
Keith, what is the product which is consumed most in your country?
To be honest, I don’t know statistically speaking which is the most
consumed product in Britain, but I do know that British people buy and sell a lot
of cheese. We love cheese.
So, there are many varieties of cheese that are sold across the country: mature
cheese, blue cheese, crumbly cheese, cheese spreads.
It’s something that’s may be connected with our eating culture and our culinary
heritage.
We like to have cheese on sandwiches. We often eat sandwiches at lunch time.
So, cheese with different sauces or different kinds of vegetables is a very,
very common thing for us to consume either at lunch time or at another time of
the day, in the afternoon.
So, I’d say, yeah, cheese is one of the most popular, most widely
consumed products in my country.
More live lessons for you
If you liked this lesson, leave a comment below!
There are more lessons you can follow in the links below too.
SCIENCE in IELTS Speaking. Learn vocabulary and idioms to talk about different branches of science you like and get ideas to talk about.
PHOTOGRAPHY in IELTS Speaking. Learn vocabulary of taking, storing and sharing photos.
CLOTHES in IELTS Speaking. Vocabulary you need to describe clothes you like and dislike, as well as formal and informal styles.
