IELTS SPEAKING TEST
Part 2
Describe a new shop in your city
You should say:
- Where it is
- What is sold there
- Who goes there
Sample Answer
My city Ahmedabad is emerging as an educational hub of India.
More than 30 different universities have their campuses either in the city or on the outskirts of the city.
And let’s not forget about innumerable primary schools as well as higher secondary schools that have thousands of students studying in them.
These schools and universities attract many students from other states also.
This way, my city is a huge market for stationery products, as stationery items are the essential things for this rising student population.
Though it was a great opportunity to leverage this great business potential, no business houses tried to try their luck in this field.
But, the scenario changed last year when the biggest stationery-shop chain in India announced that they would open their store in Ahmedabad within a few months.
The name of the shop-chain is The Inklings.
The Inklings has its store in all the metropolitan cities of India. And we are lucky that we also got its store in our city.
This is not just an ordinary stationery shop. I would call it a mini mall, as it’s a huge building with multiple sections, each devoted to a specific stationery item.
It is located in the center of the city, and at any time during their operational hours, you see it crowded by customers of different ages.
They have their website too, so people can have this online buying option.
It’s convenient to order something online, but there is something magical about this shop that you can experience if only you go there and browse the shelves yourself.
I am a huge fan of fountain pens. I have my own collection of fountain pens of different brands. And these pens require special inks, and you need a quality paper to write on.
Previously I had to purchase these things online, but this store offers a wide range of fountain pens, inks and paper that I don’t need to look for these things online.
Usually I go there on Sunday evenings. I spend some time exploring the fountain pen section , and then I go to the ‘Art & Craft’ section.
My cousin Julie is a painter, and I buy art supplies such as acrylic colors, glass paints, calligraphy brushes or paint brushes for her.
The good thing about this shop is their policy to provide high-quality products at affordable prices.
No other stationery shop in my city can compete with them in this.
And yes, I forgot to talk about a nice coffee shop that is located on the top floor of this store. After making a purchase, we can go there and sip a cold coffee and have some light snacks.
If someone visits my city, then I must say that she should visit this store at least once. I’m sure that she won’t come out of it without buying something from this lovely store.
IELTS SPEAKING TEST
Part 3
What is the difference between small stores and big stores?
Apart from size and discount prices, the bigger shops have a wide range of products that are available there.
Bigger stores used to be situated on the outskirts of the city previously.
But, they have now emerged as the biggest competitors to small shops because they are now opening in market-places where small shops used to be operating just a few years ago.
The downside of the big stores is their lack of human touch in their business transactions.
At a small store, you can talk to the shop owner and you can do bargaining there. At a shopping mall, there are always fixed prices, and you have to pay whatever they ask from you.
How does price and quality affect consumer behavior?
Pardon me for this sweeping generalization, but we Indians are always after cheap prices and best qualities.
It is impossible to please an Indian customer unless the seller sells his wares for free.
Sometimes we buy unnecessary things if we are getting them at discount prices.
And very few customers these days worry about the quality of a product.
They have no qualms about a substandard product if it’s available at a cheaper price than a standard quality product.
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cover Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay