Shopping is the activity of going to the shops and buying things.It`s enjoyed by many people. There are also people, who hate shopping and say that it is waste of time. But whether they like shopping or not, they have to go to the shop.

Shops:

Those, that are part of a chain or a group
Those, that are individually owned

A consumer society is a society in which material goods are very important, and the costumers are very important and have a lot of power. A consumer is someone who uses a product.

In the past, people would shop more often for staple foods. They would buy these in local shops in the town or village where they lived and carry them home in bags. Other things could be bought at the nearest corner shop. Today, many families have a big freezer at home and a microwave. People often use a lot of frozen or tinned vegetables. There is a growing trend to go shopping less often and to fill their cars with enough food.

Old people living alone without cars do not need to buy so much food as young families, it is not very easy for them to travel to a supermarket, it si uch easier for them to use smaller local shops.Children who want sweets, or anyone who wants a magazine, find their local shops very useful, especially corner shops which are often open much longer hours than ordinary shops.

Goods can be bought in outdoor markets. All towns and cities have a market once or twice a week. You can buy there second-hand goods, but also flowers, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as meat and fish. Many people like to go shopping to department stores. The department stores are large buildings usually several storeys high. They have many department (foodstuf, clothes, shoes, toys, sporting goods, leather goods, cleaning supplies and cosmetics, china and glass, harware goods, household appliances, books, stationary and furniture, all under one roof). Nearly all the big department stores have cafe`s, snack bars or restaurants where the people can relax. Big department stores started in America and the idea was brought to England by Gordon Selfridge.

The largest type of shops are hypermarkets and supermarkets. Many supermarkets are situated outside the town, they have cash dispensers, petrol pumps and cafe. It is very convenient to have so many products under one roof. Because supermarkets are so big, they are also able to lower the prices quite a lot, making them cheaper than smaller shops. Many supermarkets have their own brands. You don`t have to carry heavy bags of shopping along crowded streets but to unload them from the trolley into the boot of the car. On the top of all this, some supermarkets have started to give free gifts to customers who have spent lots of money in their shops.

There are many kinds of shops such as department stores, self-service shop, supermarkets and small specialized shops such as:

Baker`s- we can buy there rolls, bread, buns, cookies, baguette, croissant, ...
Barber`s- we can there become a new hair cut, ...
Butcher`s- we can buy there meat- pork, bief, lamb, poultry and smoked meat products, such as ham, bacon, sausages, frankfurters
Chemist`s- is a specialized shop, where people buy medicine - in Britain the chemist`s also keeps cosmetics and toilet supplies, such as soap, make up, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor blades, shampoo, ...
Boutique- we can buy there the latest fashion, f.e. dress, shirts, skirts-plain or pleated, pullowers, trousers, blouses- make of cotton or made of silk, jackets, polo-neck pullowers, jeans, hats, stockings, scarves, gloves,raincoat, overcoat, tie, ... - some boutiques offer leather goods such as leather jacket, belt, gloves, trousers, bags and shoes
Florist`s
Fishmonger`s
Ironmonger`s- we can buy there nails, hammer, pliers, scissors, ...
Jeweller`s
Grocer`s- we can buy there foodstuff
Pet shop
Haberdasher`s- we can buy there zipps, buttons, threads, needles, pins, ...
Greengrocer`s- we can buy there carot, potatoes, tomatoes, corn, beans, garlic, onion, cabbage, lettuce, pumpkin, peas, courgette, peppers, cucumber, parsnip, ...
Fruiterer`s- we can buy there cherries, apple, banana, peach, grapes, kiwi, fig, strawberries, raspberries, grapefruit, lime, lemon, orange, blackberries, pineapple, mango, passion fruit
Newsagent`s- we can buy there newspapers, magazines, crossroads, letters, stamps, ...
Off-licence- we can buy there vine- red, white, soft, ..., also many sorts of alcohol
Stationer`s- we can buy there writing paper, pen, glue, scissors, notebooks, wrapping paper, crayons, rubber, fountain pen, ball-point pen, ...
Sweetshop
Antique shop
Cake shop- we can buy there doughnuts, chocolate chip muffin, sponge cake, scones, meringue, petits fours, swiss roll, ...
Gift shop
Shoe shop
China and glassware shops
Delicatessens
Bookshop
Toy shop
Launderette- we bring our clothes, than we insert a coin into the slot, than we wait
Dry cleaners- we bring our clothes, and we don`t have to clean them ourselves

Hire-purchase is a way of buying an article by paying the prize in weekly or monthly instalments. Or you can pay also by cheque, credit card or in cash. Window shopping is the acctivity of looking at goods without intending to buy them. Shopping around is to search carefully for goods that are the best value or most suitable. High Street is the main shopping street in a town. Barcode is a group of thin lines-black and white, printed on goods for sale, containing information for a computer. Convenience food is food you can easy prepare.

My thought

I like shopping. Shopping for me is a pleasure because I like buying clothes and cosmetics. But I especially dislike Christmas shopping because of the long queues. I dislike Butcher`s because I don`t like meat. I like clothes shops and department stores.My mum does most of the shopping in our family. I think, the quality of goods is about the same than in other European countries. The prizes are high compared to people`s wages. Shop assistants should be more polite.

Services

Services is a system that provide something that the public needs. It`s organized by the government or privat company. We know many types of services, f.e. Post office is a national organization in many countries,that is responsible for colecting and delivering letters, post cards, ... Bank is an organization, that provides various financial services, keeping or lending monez, we can put our money into a bank account. Each bank has also a cash dispensor. And we can withdrow our money any time we want.

Police is an official organization, who`s job is to make people obey the law and to prevent and solve the crime.
Petrol station is a place at the side of the road where you take your car to buy petrol, gas, oil.
Milk/ paper round is a daily delivery of milk and newspaper.
Dry-cleaning
Shoes repairs
Photo coppie
Baby-sitting
Gardeners
Window cleaners
Electricians

Many services can be ordered by telefon (Yellow pages). Services are also advertised in classified ads.