Table of Contents
BEST IELTS General Reading Test 538
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST 538 – PASSAGE – 3
IELTS GENERAL READING TEST – 538
READING PASSGAE – 3
The Shopping Mall Phenomenon
The place to go shopping used to be the Main Street or High Street. This is no longer true. The shopping mall has become the place where most of what used to be called high street shopping takes place. Shopping malls are regularly used by all, with 65 per cent of adults visiting at least one every month. Malls are also no longer simply a place to shop; they are a place to spend time with friends, share opinions, enjoy a coffee, meal or even a movie. This improved leisure experience obviously affects the amount of time spent per visit by shoppers, with the average time spent in the larger ones over double that of national averages.
There are a variety of pluses with the shopping mall experience. Malls offer complimentary parking and inclement weather does not affect shoppers, as they do not have to go outside at any point. The main perceived advantages are the bywords of today’s modern age – variety and convenience. Everything that is needed for most shopping trips is under one roof. One trip with the car and the required shopping can be done and the rest of the day can be devoted to other things. Retailers, too, are happy. Modern malls are designed to facilitate browsing and buying, and the placement of stores is carefully controlled to provide the optimum experience.
IELTS General Reading Test
Large department stores are placed at corners and to go between them, shoppers have to pass a variety of speciality shops. Other statistics support retailers’ satisfaction. 90 per cent of western consumers have visited a shopping centre within the last six months and the average spend per visit for western malls is over twice as much as the national shopping trip average, showing the positive effect of purpose-built leisure destinations on shoppers’ propensity to purchase.
The majority of visitors to malls are female and they are more likely to buy than male visitors in most shopping situations. Finally, 51 per cent of shoppers will make a spontaneous purchase, showing how the evolution of the shopping mall into a highly entertaining leisure environment has also changed shopping behaviour and mindset. All the above experiences have now become associated with social fulfilment.
IELTS General Reading Test
Of course there are disadvantages to shopping malls. The shopping mall favours the large and chain retailers and so smaller and family-run shops find it difficult to compete. In the end, this actually reduces variety and the competition that drives down prices. In addition, customers will spend more than they intend to in shopping malls. On average, people impulse buy and browse far more than they intend to. This is great for the shops, but not so good for the individuals unless they have the funds.
Finally, shopping malls can get extremely crowded, especially at weekends. This involves the shopper making his or her way through crowds of people in the regulated and air-conditioned atmosphere. This is probably a dream for retailers, but not many people would think of this as a pleasant experience if they stopped to think about it. The only disadvantage for retailers is that, because of all the advantages, malls can demand prohibitive prices for leasing locations for stores.
IELTS General Reading Test
The influence and profitability of shopping malls have been affected by the introduction of Internet shopping, but not as much as may be thought. Although shopping on the Internet offers the ultimate convenience with shoppers not even needing to leave the house, this is not what all shoppers want.
Many people like the experience of going out, seeing other people and going to real stores. Many people like to see and touch the groceries they will buy, especially meat, fish, fruits and vegetables that need to be seen and touched to gauge quality and freshness. With clothes, many people like to try on clothes before buying, so that they don’t buy something they have to return. E-shopping returns are often at the buyers’ expense.
IELTS General Reading Test
The shopping mall phenomenon has also had an impact on advertisers. Because of malls’ leisure facilities such as restaurants, coffee shops and entertainment venues, 86 per cent of shoppers would rather visit malls than their high street, and this makes malls the places with the highest reported levels of annual footfall. Advertising agencies now claim that you can communicate with 75 per cent of western populations every two weeks through a campaign in the top malls in a selection of western countries. Shopping malls also attract the types of consumers that retailers want.
There are the higher income females (the principal audience of mall ads), who want to combine a meeting with their friends with lunch and a shopping trip. There are the young and upwardly mobile, who want to meet and hang out with their friends. There are the family groups at weekends, who want a safe place for the children whilst combining grocery trips, other shopping and maybe a trip to the cinema. There are even creches in some malls, so that the youngest of children can be cared for safely whilst the adults spend.
Malls are also one of the most successful places to target the teenager, that most elusive of consumers. The average visit to a mall takes one hour and twenty minutes, which provides plenty of time for all these consumers to see a bewildering variety of ads as well as shop.
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 28-34
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Shoppers
Advantages
– Free (28)………………
– Protection from bad weather.
– Perception of more choice.
– Perception of more convenience.
IELTS General Reading Test
Retailers
Advantages
– Promotes (29)…………. and purchasing.
– Stores are carefully arranged.
– (30)…………. of customers go to a mall within 1/2 a year.
– Shopping mall spending is higher.
– Most shopping mall visitors are female (more likely to buy).
– Impulse buying more likely.
– (31)…………. is linked to all these advantages.
IELTS General Reading Test
Shoppers
Disadvantages
– Smaller and family-run shops are disadvantaged and close down – less choice + (32)………….
– Customers will spend more than they intend – more impulse buying + browsing.
– Very busy and an artificially a/c- controlled (33)………….
Retailers
Disadvantages
– Renting space in malls means elevated (34)………….
IELTS General Reading Test
Questions 35-40
Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer of the text?
In boxes 35-40 on your answer sheet write:
YES – if the statement agrees with the writer’s views
NO – if the statement doesn’t agree the writer’s views
NOT GIVEN – if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this
35. The advent of online shopping has not reduced shopping mall revenues.
36. The number of grocery stores in shopping malls is currently rising.
37. Returning items is more advantageous when shopping online.
38. Statistics show that over three-quarters of consumers now prefer malls to traditional town shopping.
39. Advertisers target women more than men in their mall advertisements.
40. Teenagers provide the highest revenues to shopping malls.
IELTS General Reading Test
IELTS General Reading Test
ANSWERS
28. PARKING
29. BROWSING
30. 90 PER CENT
31. SOCIAL FULFILMENT
32. COMPETITION
33. ATMOSPHERE
34. PRICES
35. NO
36. NOT GIVEN
37. NO
38. YES
39. YES
40. NOT GIVEN
IELTS General Reading Test