E37: Talking about shopping. Department and specialty stores. Local neighborhood shops and services.

 

Macy’s Department Store, Herald Square, Manhattan (Ian Gratton, Wikimedia CCA 2.0)

OVERVIEW

 

 

 

NEW WORDS

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Nouns.

  • advertising the activity of attracting public attention to a product or business, as by paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic media.
  • advertisement (plural: advertisements) a notice, such as a poster or a paid announcement in the print, broadcast, or electronic media, designed to attract public attention or patronage.
  • appliance (plural: appliances) a device or instrument designed to perform a specific function, especially an electrical device, such as a toaster, for household use.
  • auction (plural: auctions) a publicly held sale at which goods are sold to the highest bidder.
  • barber shop (plural: shops) a shop where men can get their hair cut.
  • beauty salon (plural: salons) an establishment that offers a variety of cosmetic treatments and cosmetic services for men and women, including professional hair cutting and styling, manicures and pedicures.
  • bill (plural: bills) an itemized list or statement of fees or charges.
  • Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving, regarded as the first day of the traditional Christmas shopping season, on which retailers offer special reduced prices.
  • brand (plural: brands) a trademark or distinctive name identifying a product or service.
  • cashier (plural: cashiers) a store employee who handles cash transactions with customers.
  • chain (plural: chains) a number of establishments, such as stores, theaters, or hotels, under common ownership or management.
  • change room/fitting room (plural: rooms) a room where people can change their clothes in a public place such as a store.
  • clothing clothes considered as a group; wearing apparel.
  • consumer (plural: consumers) a person who acquires goods and services for his or her own personal needs.
  • convenience store (plural: stores) a retail business that provides the public with a convenient location to quickly purchase a wide variety of consumable products and services, generally food.
  • corner shop (plural: shops) a small shop, usually on the corner of a street, that sells mainly food and household goods.
  • coupon (plural: coupons) a detachable part of a ticket or advertisement entitling the holder to a discount, free gift, etc.
  • customer (plural: customers) one that buys goods or services, as from a store or business.
  • deal (plural: deals) a sale favorable especially to the buyer; a bargain.
  • delivery (deliveries) something delivered, as a shipment or package.
  • department store (plural: stores) a large retail store offering a variety of merchandise and services and organized in separate departments.
  • discount (plural: discounts) a reduction from the full or standard amount of a price.
  • display (plural: displays) objects or merchandise set out for viewing by the public.
  • electronics a wide field that can include televisions, DVD and Blu-ray players, GPS systems and even computer systems and video games.
  • farmers market (plural: markets) a public and recurring assembly of farmers or their representatives selling the food that they produced directly to consumers.
  • flea market (plural: markets) a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously owned (second-hand) goods.
  • franchise (plural: franchises) the right or license granted by a company to an individual or group to market its products or services in a specific territory.
  • furniture movable articles (as chairs, tables, or beds) used in making a room ready for use.
  • garage/yard sale  (plural: sales) a sale of used household belongings, typically held outdoors.
  • gift/present (plural: gifts, presents) something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation; a present.
  • grocery shopping shopping for food and household supplies, for example, in a supermarket.
  • guarantee (plural: guarantees) a promise or assurance of quality.
  • laundromat (plural: laundromats) a commercial establishment equipped with washing machines and dryers, usually coin-operated and self-service.
  • loyalty card (plural: cards) a card issued by a supermarket or chain store to a customer and used to record credit points awarded for money spent in the store.
  • mall (plural: malls) a large, often enclosed shopping complex containing various stores, businesses, and restaurants usually accessible by common passageways.
  • opening hours the times during which a shop, bank, library, or bar is open for business.
  • outlet mall (plural: malls) a large group of stores, usually outside a town or city, that each sell clothes, goods, etc. made by a particular company, for a reduced price.
  • parking lot (plural: lots) an area for parking motor vehicles.
  • receipt (plural: receipts) a written acknowledgment that a specified article, sum of money, or shipment of merchandise has been received.
  • retail the sale of goods or commodities in small quantities directly to consumers.
  • rip-off (plural: rip-offs) cheating or swindling, especially by charging an exorbitant or unfair fee.
  • sale (plural: sales) disposal of goods at reduced prices.
  • sales tax (plural: taxes) a tax levied on the retail price of merchandise and collected by the retailer.
  • sample (plural: samples) a a small part of anything, intended as representative of the whole.
  • shopaholic (plural: shopaholics) a person who enjoys shopping very much and does it a lot.
  • shopping searching for or buying goods or services.
  • shopping basket (plural: baskets) a metal or plastic container with one or two handles, used to carry shopping in a shop.
  • shopping binge (plural: binges) a short period of time in which someone buys a lot of things.
  • shopping center (plural: centers) a group of stores and often restaurants and other businesses having a common parking lot.
  • shopping channel (plural: channels) a television channel that broadcasts programmes showing products that you can phone the channel and buy.
  • size (plural: sizes) the dimensions, proportions, amount, or extent of something.
  • stock (plural: stocks) the total merchandise kept on hand by a merchant, commercial establishment, warehouse, or manufacturer.
  • storage room (plural: rooms) a room or space for the storing of goods or supplies.
  • store (plural: stores) a place where merchandise is offered for sale; a shop.
  • supermarket (plural: supermarkets) a large self-service retail market that sells food and household goods.
  • tailor (plural: tailors) one that makes, repairs, and alters garments such as suits, coats, and dresses.
  • till (plural: tills)/cash register (plural: registers) a drawer or compartment for money, as in a store.
  • trolley (plural: trolleys) a wheeled cart or stand pushed by hand and used for moving heavy items, such as shopping in a supermarket or luggage at a railway station.
  • warranty (plural: warranties) an assurance by the seller of property that the goods or property are as represented or will be as promised.
  • wholesaler (plural: wholesalers) the sale of goods in large quantities, as for resale by a retailer.

Verbs.

  • to bargain to negotiate the terms of an agreement, as to sell or exchange.
  • to browse to look through or glance at casually.
  • to buy to purchase.
  • to go shopping to go to one or more shops to buy things, often for enjoyment.
  • to purchase to obtain in exchange for money; to buy.
  • to refund to give back money, as when an article purchased is unsatisfactory.
  • to return to give back merchandise to the supplier.
  • to shop around to look for the most suitable item or service for the lowest price. 

Adjectives.

  • affordable inexpensive; reasonably priced.
  • cheap relatively low in cost; not expensive.
  • expensive very high-priced; costly.
  • inexpensive not expensive; cheap.
  • pricey expensive; having a high price.
  • secondhand acquired after being used by another; not new.

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VISUAL VOCABULARY

  • Let’s walk along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan
  • Let’s visit some shopping areas in the United Kingdom
  • Let’s visit some shopping areas in Canada
  • Let’s visit some shopping areas in the United Kingdom
  • Let’s visit some shopping areas in Ireland
  • Let’s visit some shopping areas in Australia
  • Let’s visit some shopping areas in New Zealand

KEY PHRASES

 

 

GRAMMAR TIPS

 

 

ONLINE RESOURCES

United States

 

Canada

 

United Kingdom

 

Ireland

 

Australia

 

New Zealand