You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic.
Buying things on the Internet, such as books, air tickets and groceries, is becoming more and more popular. Do the advantages of shopping in this way outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer:
E-commerce has revolutionised the way people do business and purchase products and get different services. With billions of Internet users, online shopping is no longer a theory, but a reality, and it has changed people’s lifestyle and buying habits to a great extent. With the exception of a few disadvantages, online shopping has tremendous benefits and it will dominate global business even more in the coming days to make people’s life easier.
To begin with, online shopping enables consumers to get a service or a product from home. They no longer need to travel a long distance or wait in a long queue to pay their bills or withdraw cash. With the widespread use of hand-held smart devices and the Internet, shopping is just a few finger taps away. This saves valuable times and enables people to use plastic cards which is more secure. Moreover, online banking, ticket booking system, e-payment and online subscriptions facilitate mass people to avoid traffic congestion and help maintain a green environment. From a business owner’s perspective, online shopping permits them to run the business 24×7 and without the need for any extra staff, utility bills and so on. This permits them to offer products at a more competitive price.
Furthermore, consumers enjoy great freedom to purchase global products from renowned websites like eBay and Amazon and compare the quality and price of a product before making a purchasing decision. Perhaps the most noticeable benefit of this trend is the unparalleled opportunity it has brought for ordinary people to open their own online shops and run small businesses online. This would never have happened without the growth of online business trends.
Among the drawbacks of online shopping, identity theft and digital scams are more common. Careless use of a credit card or sensitive personal information can often invite intruders and hackers to harm someone. Finally, online shopping does not allow someone to physically inspect a product before buying it and this often leads to customer dissatisfaction. However, these demerits can easily be avoided by being cautious and relying on reputed brands.
To conclude, the overwhelming benefits that online shopping offer far outweigh a few demerits it has. I personally am an online shopper and I believe that this has immensely improved our freedom of shopping and lifestyle.