The e Commerce Revolution American English Student BW

A A BUSINESS ISSUES
The e-commerce revolution

Lesson code: 12ZV-E7JE-JCI7 Intermediate (B1-B2)
American English
1 Warm-up
Do you shop online? Why/why not?
2 Key words
Complete the definitions below with the following words:
booming broadband in bulk secure tech-savvy
1. (adj.): having a good practical knowledge of technology

2. (adj.): very successful, e.g. business is .
3. (adj.): free from being accessed by an unauthorized person
4. (phrase): in large numbers or volume
5. (noun): a communications system used for high-speed internet access
3 Predict the answers

What do you know about the e-commerce industry? Choose the correct answer to each question and
read the article on the next page to see if you are right.
1. When was the first product sold online?

a. in 1990 b. in 1994 c. in 1997
2. What was it?

a. a book b. a computer c. a CD
3. How much were global internet sales worth in 2000?

a. $990m b. $247m c. $1.86bn
4. How much were global internet sales worth in 2007?

a. $12.38bn b. $123.8bn c. $309.5bn
5. How many people use the internet today?

a. almost 1 billion b. almost 2 billion c. almost 3 billion
You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex 1/4

Review your flashcards at least 3-5 times a week for 20 minutes to keep the material fresh in your memory.
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A A A A BUSINESS ISSUES
1 The retail industry is undergoing a revolution. As proliferation of broadband. "Due to broadband we

more and more tech-savvy consumers go online are able to display our products in a more
to shop, internet sales are booming. favorable way, for example with the use of
catwalks," he said.
2 The first secure internet shopping transaction took
place in August 1994 - the sale of a CD in the US. 6 The other key factor is convenience, he said.
By the time of the dotcom gold rush in 2000, "Girls don't have the time to go to the shops in
internet sales had reached $990m a year. Despite their lunch hour. By shopping online they can get
fears over the future of the internet after the items delivered to their place of work."
dotcom bubble burst and initial consumer
concerns about the safety of shopping by credit 7 Online shopping appears to be much more
card online, e-commerce sales have exploded convenient, especially for products that are easy
since 2000. to post or that consumers want to buy in bulk.
DVDs, CDs, and books are the perfect example.
3 According to James Roper, the chief executive at
Shoppers know exactly what they want; it is
IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group), online
simply a case of finding the cheapest retailer
shopping will transform the way people consume.
online. However, when it is a question of
Traditional retailers have to concentrate on the
something more personal, such as the perfect
mass market as they only have the shelf space
dress and piece of jewelery to match, consumers
and time for the best-selling products, he says.
often prefer to see the item for themselves. They
But with the internet, consumers have unlimited
enjoy the whole experience, the pleasure of trying
choice. "It is a bigger marketplace and consumers
products on or simply browsing and planning a
can find exactly the product they want rather than
future purchase.
just what is available in the shops," he said. "You
can get products from anywhere in the world." 8 One retail analyst said that the traditional retailers
4 According to an IMRG report in 2007, "the internet that may prove ultimately more successful are
does not recognize boundaries and is creating a those that go multi-channel by integrating their
huge global shopping marketplace, worth website with their physical shops.
$309.5bn in 2007. More than a billion people use
the internet, some 17 percent of the world's 9 "That is the next logical step," he said. "Websites
population, of which almost a third live in Europe." will become more sophisticated. You will be able
Today, almost 2 billion people use the internet. to order online, then arrange to go and pick it up
yourself from a distribution point."
5 Nick Robertson, the chief executive of the online
fashion retailer ASOS, said one of the biggest Adapted from The Independent, May 1st, 2007,
factors in the growth of his business has been the By Karen Attwood

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4 Checking understanding
Read the whole article and complete the table below:
Advantages of online shopping Advantages of traditional shopping
5 Find the words

Find a word or phrase in the text which means:
1. experiencing (a change) (verb -ing, P1)

2. a temporary period of very successful economic performance (noun, P2)
3. space in a shop to display products (noun phrase, P3)
4. a great and sudden increase (noun, P5)
6 Grammar - Tenses for describing trends

Read the following sentences from the text:
a. The retail industry is undergoing a revolution.

b. Websites will become more sophisticated.
c. By the time of the dotcom gold rush in 2000, internet sales had reached $990m a year.
d. E-commerce sales have exploded since 2000.
Which sentence above describes:
1. a trend that started in the past and is complete in the present?

2. a trend that is in progress at the moment?
3. a trend that was completed before a particular point in the past?
4. a predicted future trend?
What are the tenses used in the underlined structures?

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Now form complete sentences, putting the verbs into the correct tense:
1. At present / sales / increase / rapidly

2. By the end of the last quarter / our profit / fall / by 12%
3. The number of online subscribers / reach / 2 million / since we started the business
4. At the end of this year / sales / reach / $1m
5. Interest rates / drop / by 2% / over the last five years
6. More and more people / work at home / these days
7. The population of the island / reach / 2 million / in 1999
8. Turnover / not change / since the company relocated to Germany
9. Next year / consumer spending / go up / dramatically
10. By the time he was ready to expand the business / he / spend / $2 million / on advertising
7 Talking point
How popular is online shopping in your country? Which websites are popular?

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A A BUSINESS ISSUES

The e-commerce revolution

booming broadband in bulk secure tech-savvy

1. (adj.): having a good practical knowledge of technology

3 Predict the answers

1. When was the first product sold online?

2. What was it?

3. How much were global internet sales worth in 2000?

4. How much were global internet sales worth in 2007?

5. How many people use the internet today?

You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex 1/4

The e-commerce revolution

1 The retail industry is undergoing a revolution. As proliferation of broadband. "Due to broadband we

You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex 2/4

Advantages of online shopping Advantages of traditional shopping

5 Find the words

1. experiencing (a change) (verb -ing, P1)

6 Grammar - Tenses for describing trends

a. The retail industry is undergoing a revolution.

Which sentence above describes:

1. a trend that started in the past and is complete in the present?

What are the tenses used in the underlined structures?

You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex 3/4

1. At present / sales / increase / rapidly

You can review this worksheet online at www.linguahouse.com/ex 4/4

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