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Describe A Problem You Had While Shopping Online Or In A Store: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When it happened
  • What you bought
  • What problem you had
  • And describe the party.
Show all 122 answers

Cue 1:When it happened

  • Begin by mentioning the time frame when the online shopping experience occurred, such as during a festival or sale.
  • Provide context about your shopping habits, like if you usually shop online or prefer physical stores.

Example

Last month, during the Diwali festival, I decided to do some online shopping to buy gifts for my family. I usually prefer shopping online because of the convenience it offers.


Cue 2:What you bought

  • Clearly state the item you intended to purchase, including any specific details that make it relatable.
  • Mention why you chose this particular item, perhaps due to its significance or popularity.

Example

I was looking to buy a beautiful set of traditional Indian sweets to gift to my relatives. These sweets are a staple during Diwali, and I wanted to ensure I got the best quality.


Cue 3:What problem you had

  • Describe the specific issue you faced while shopping, whether it was related to the website, delivery, or product quality.
  • Explain how this problem affected your shopping experience and your feelings about it.

Example

Unfortunately, after placing my order, I received a notification that the sweets I ordered were out of stock. I was really disappointed because I had planned to surprise my family with them.


Cue 4:And describe the party

  • Talk about the significance of the occasion and how the problem impacted the celebration.
  • Share how you resolved the issue or what alternative you found to still make the occasion special.

Example

Diwali is a time for family gatherings and celebrations, and I wanted to make it special. After the issue, I quickly searched for another vendor and found a local store that offered similar sweets. I managed to get them in time for the celebration, and my family loved them!


Conclusion

    Example

    Overall, while my online shopping experience had its challenges, it taught me the importance of having backup plans. In the end, I was able to enjoy Diwali with my family, which was the most important part.


    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.


    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Being vague can make your answer less engaging and informative. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about your experience.

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    Tip

    Use specific examples and details about the product, the problem, and your feelings to create a vivid picture for the examiner.


    2: Ignoring the Cues

    Failing to address all the cues can lead to an incomplete answer. This may result in a lower score as it shows a lack of organization.

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    Tip

    Structure your response by clearly addressing each cue: when it happened, what you bought, the problem, and your feelings about it.


    Overly Negative Tone

    Focusing too much on negativity can make your response less appealing. It’s important to balance your experience with some positive aspects.

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    Tip

    While discussing the problem, also mention any positive outcomes or lessons learned to create a more balanced narrative.


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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6

    A problem I had while shopping, how would I describe this, I have had few problems while shopping in store as well as in online because I belong to a, my height is little short so due to that I find problems in finding my true size and the fitting, sometimes if the fitting is correct I don't find my size there or if the, like if it is fitting in the waist it's long or something, I always have to compromise on whether the style I want or whether it is a fitting and quite a few times I find myself going through the cloths in the kids section because that is where I find few of my fits, even though I am 24 years old I have to go and do shopping in the kids section, sometimes it is embarrassing, so these are the few problems I have had doing shopping as in online as well as in store.

    Band 6

    I used to shop very less in this current times because I don't know how to select the clothes and I prefer to take my mom to go with shopping and she used to help me while shopping and recently I went to a mall near my house which is 10 minutes far away from my house and it was a CMR shopping mall and I went for shopping for my sister's marriage then I went with my cousins and my mom and I bought a new pair of sherwani, there are more type of sherwani available and the service was very excellent and I have faced one of the problem, one of my nephew has accidentally broken perfume bottle itself and I thought they will charge us, its cost was nearly 4000 rupees I informed the supervisor itself, they told me they will talk to the manager and they will inform us and however we was ready to pay half of the amount because we can't have that much of money so we expected an argument from them and unfortunately we got a positive response from them, they used to leave us because its a demo piece and it does not have much quantity, it has only few drops of perfume in that bottle so I think it is one of the best service from them and I bought many clothes from them and I felt very happy

    Band 6

    Online shopping is on craze nowadays. Many people buy online all over the world, but there are few problems that they face while shopping. I would like to talk about an experience I had in my life during online shopping. It was a time of 2020 when my elder brother came from Canada after his semester break. He is pursuing a Bachelor's in Artificial Intelligence. After his coming home, me with my brother went to a Reliance store for buying a MacBook laptop. The MacBook laptop is a laptop which we bought on AMI. AMI usually cost me Rs.1,07,000. But after one month of buying, the laptop got broke. And after the laptop got broke, we went to a customer care to have a full refund of the laptop. As you also bought the AppleCare+, which is a guarantee. If something happens to the laptop, they will change the laptop completely. But as we went to the store, we told them to have a new laptop. But instead of giving a new laptop, they started arguing to us that it is not under our policy. It is a treasure store in Panipat, which is famous for Apple's service center. And after there, they refused to give us a refund or a new laptop. It was a bad experience we had while shopping on a store. The customer service was poor. This problem I had with my brother in the store when buying a laptop and having refund issues with it.

    Band 6

    The problem I faced while shopping online, actually the problem is, it happened last week while I was shopping online for my birthday, so I started searching the catalogue of dresses I wanted to wear for my birthday, so the problem is, I find it pretty very good, but I don't know whether it suits me or not, so I was having a problem there, so I doubtedly ordered it and I have received, as expected the dress doesn't suit me, the colour is very light and I was unable to give it back to them, so that is the problem I faced.

    Band 6

    Nowadays online shopping is very much in trending as people prefer to do everything online. Like if they have to go, if they have to do any kind of work or any kind of shopping they prefer to go online. I am also a shopaholic person and here I would like to describe a time when I stuck in a problem while shopping online. So it was a situation, one month ago I remember that one month ago I did online shopping and I was just searching for a beautiful party dress as it was my birthday. So I wanted a very cute and stylish birthday party dress and after a lot of searches I finally got it and I ordered it. I got my dress within one week but when I checked this dress it was not of appropriate size, it was too short and tight. So I was very much upset with this because it was very, this was the dress which I want. So I put an exchange of it but after that 2-3 days I got an exchange of that dress but in exchange it was not of appropriate size. And so I was very much hurt at that moment so I decided to give it a return of this dress but it was not working, the return policy was not working. So after that I called the customer care services and I told them all the situation which was happened with me but they were also not responding to me in a correct way. They were also not helping me, they were just excusing me and they were just excusing me so I felt very bad.

    Band 6

    I am very fond of kitchen crockery and cutlery items so I decided to buy two glass jars through online application app Amazon which is quite popular among us. So it was for storing pickles which I seasoned last week only. When I saw firstly it was showing that it would get delivered within four to five days but it took long and it crossed 10 days limit. Secondly when it arrived it was in a very bad situation also the colors was colors of the jar as shown in the image was not as per the thing which I received. thing which I received so I decided to return them but their return policy was also very bad and they denied to return it. I have to go to to the chatting system and talk to one of their associates and make made them understand that I do not want this at such a high rate therefore they tried they tried to do so by taking more

    Band 6

    The problem I had in online shopping was not getting the correct sizes when we order. The last week I went to shop on an e-commerce website and then I got a shirt which is very good looking and in a beautiful color. I also checked my size but then when it came it was not fit to me and it was very frustrating for all the people. When it comes to online shopping what they show is different from what we get. It's not about in sizes but also in colors and in patterns and getting the refund or returning the clothes also is very difficult. We have to contact the customer service then give our information and then the person should come and collect it. So it's very frustrating and frustrating to shop online.

    Band 6

    so I bought different type of products online and offline both but I prefer doing online shopping more than the going into stores because there are more sales and more discounts on online shops so I prefer doing online shopping more than going in a store so there was a one time that I had a problem while shopping online and that was regarding the first day I saw a great glitch in the size section where I thought I was tapping on the size L and it repeated again and again to size XL and or XXL so it was there was a glitch but I thought there it was a glitch so I ordered the product and it got delivered to me in the size XXL only and when I wore it it was very loose on me so I put it on exchange and when I received the exchange product in the size L it was too tight to me so I put the order for re-exchanging so when I re-exchange the product the time the re-exchange the product so it

    Band 6

    Although online shopping is a very convenient and most demanded way of shopping now a days, but with online shopping, there are a couple of problems. For instance, when you shop online, at times you need to check the price very carefully and analyse the price in other platforms because the same product is sold at different prices on different platforms. Secondly, there are chances that the product which you order, you get a wrong product. It could be a problem in the delivery or the dispatch or the person who is packing it. So, the system in online, there are some loopholes and there are some problems in which the customers have to bear the loss of time, energy as well as their money stuck because once you receive a wrong order, you have to anyhow receive it. When you receive the wrong order, then you have to go back online, explain the problem, explain the issue with the product and then return the product, wait for the pickup and your payment. So, there is a long process of 10 to 15 days. So, online shopping is though very convenient and comfortable for everybody, but at the same time, it has certain drawbacks. For sure, it gives us a huge variety of products that we can see on one single platform and you can choose from a variety of products. So, online shopping is good, but recently I had ordered a footwear from Archie.

    Band 6

    When I had a forthcoming trip with my friends to Goa, I was out shopping for myself. The problems I faced while being at a store was that it was really exhausting to jump from one store to another, to check out dresses, try on the various colours, because I am not a shopaholic of a person, so I don't really enjoy shopping. This was the problem which I faced in store, whereas coming to shopping online, that is even more exhausting for me, because I need to scroll endlessly on these blue screens, which is tiring for my eyes and definitely put a negative impact on my health. But finally I ended up buying some western wares from online as well as one or two from the store. After which we went on the trip and we had a great time because we had met each other after six months. It was totally a relaxing and refreshing vacation which we all needed in our lives.

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