Subject 7 – 600 words

Shopping at the supermarket

Going shopping is today not only a necessity, but a way in which people have fun and relax. They
make money and they need to spend it. There are many places where you can go shopping: at a corner
shop, at the market, at a supermarket, at a department store, a mall, a shopping centre like Metro, Billa or
Carrefour, at a bazaar or at a street stall. Each of these places comes with advantages and
disadvantages.
Speaking about supermarkets, they seem to be very popular among shoppers. Why? Because a
supermarket is usually a big, clean, well-lit and spacious place. They play soft music in the background
and shopping becomes a pleasant activity. In a supermarket people can buy foods, drinks and many
products for their houses – cleaning products, home appliances, and a lot of cosmetics. All these products
are nicely arranged on shelves and the prices vary from low to high, depending on the quality of the
products. At a supermarket people find different brands of the same product and they can choose and buy
their favourite one. Another good thing is that people have direct access to the products. They can choose
the vegetables and the fruits, as fresh and as big or small as they want.
When people enter a supermarket, they take a trolley or a basket and they walk around the place,
look at the products and choose what they want. Nobody bothers them and, if they need information
regarding a certain product, they can ask one member of the staff who supervises the activity. There are
special trolleys for children and this is also an advantage, as the children have fun and their parents can
stay as long as they need to do the shopping.
When a big company wants to promote a new product, they usually choose to open a stand in a
supermarket with free samples of the new product. People are invited to taste coffee, juice, salami,
chocolate, wine and many other things. There is a tough competition between supermarkets, because they
want to have more and more customers. That’s why the marketing department comes up with different
offers to attract people. For loyal customers supermarkets come with special offers, bonuses, discounts
and prizes, especially around days like Christmas or Easter. There is also a system of fidelity cards, like
the Gima card, that offers a lot of facilities to the ones that have such cards. If you don’t have cash, at a
supermarket you can also pay by card. There is also a car park in front of a supermarket and it’s easy for
people to take the things they buy to their cars.
One of the major disadvantages is the long queues, especially at weekends. Sometimes you wait
for hours to pay for what you’ve bought. It is also true that the staff members are not always there when
you need them. Sometimes they don’t know much about a product and you don’t get the information that
you need.
In conclusion, a supermarket seems to be the perfect place for us to go shopping. Not in case you
are in a hurry or when all you need is five eggs and some coffee. But when you have a long shopping list,
you can be absolutely sure that everything you need to buy is waiting for you on the shelves of a
supermarket. I don’t usually go shopping, I don’t like doing this and I’m not good at it. But I like the
atmosphere in supermarkets and I consider them a sign of civilization.