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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 6-7

    I faced a lot of problems, be it shopping online or while I'm in a store. So one of my experiences that I want to share with you today is while I was shopping online back in the days in March 2025 this year is when I actually placed an order for an abaya. It was a website that actually was kind of known but the reviews weren't good enough so I wanted to try it so I actually placed an order for a black abaya and I actually paid online for the order and the order got placed but it was a long time, a week has passed and there was no response from the other side. I actually got nervous about the order because I had paid the money online and I really got anxious about what happened with my order, did it get placed or not, is it going to be delivered or not, was it a scam website, were they trying to trick the customers by putting such fake content online. But later on a few days passed and someone reached out to us about it and I actually received the order, it was a very beautiful abaya and I actually went to the party, everyone liked it and were so amazed and thanked me and asked me if it was a scam.

    Band 6-7

    After completion of my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, I was a little bit confused about what to do next. At that time, my friend Anandu recommended me to start some business while my parents encouraged me to pursue my Masters abroad. But I wanted to try or learn something unique and I started researching for some unique skills and I came across a post about financial investment and trading. At that time, I got interested about that and I researched and I studied a lot about that. After my 6 months of studies, I started investing into different platforms like exchanges and for keeping my money safe, I need a ledger wallet which ensures more security than any exchanges. Exchanges can be scammed so that I bought a ledger wallet. Actually I bought it through Flipkart and it is an amazing wallet. But one problem happened in that actually when we switch on the wallet, its screen splits a bit that we can't actually see the things clearly. So I got very sad about that incident and I returned the product after 2 weeks. The Flipkart shows convenience about damage to the product and they helped me to return the product and they gave me a new wallet which ensures quality.

    Band 6-7

    In the present era of technology, online shopping has become more convenient than ever before. I consider myself a regular online shopper, but I would like to talk about the eBay, which allows people to buy and sell a wide range of products from electronics to fashion. Last month I bought a mobile phone as my old one was not working properly, so I researched for a suitable online shopping and found it on eBay. I was extremely sorry to say that because my parcel was not delivered on time and I got a phone that is not functioning correctly, so I preferred a store nearby me to buy a mobile phone again. There are also a number of phones in the store and it is difficult to find or to choose a phone according to my taste. Then I most probably I must say that the shopkeeper used to help their customers to have an item of their own choice and try to make their customer comfortable. So I went there and asked him a phone that will fulfill my needs as he showed me a lot of phones, different phones. I found it.

    Band 6-7

    Recently, last week Saturday, I ordered from Nayaka Pink Friday Sale, I bought some stuff for myself and I got 600 rupees discount and when I ordered the estimated delivery date was Monday, 24th November. So, I ordered it immediately because I needed it and then when on Monday, I tried to reach the delivery partner, I couldn't reach them and then they said that you were not available at the time of the delivery and I think that's really bad service. I was so disappointed with them because I have never had this bad experience with Nayaka and still I haven't received its 28th of November and still I have been talking to their customer care. I think they are trying to help me out in their own way but I don't think it's working because still I haven't received my order and showing that I will be receiving it tomorrow, 29th of November and I am not available tomorrow so I guess it's going to be a problem. I think I will contact with them again and reschedule my delivery.

    Band 6-7

    I came across few issues with online platforms especially on on snitch where I was going to purchase a brown color shirt so initially when I was going through the shirt I thought it might be light brown but when it came to my home after I ordered it looked like a dark brown so it becomes difficult to look through the website and order accordingly but when I go to the traditional way of but when I prefer traditional way of shopping it somewhere around becomes easier to select the color and size of it because size is also one of the parameters which which I face issue during the purchase of a shirt via online shopping but yeah I do believe that during traditional way of shopping somewhere you can go to the fittings room and check your size and color but somewhere around the availability of the variety availability of the shirts sizes becomes difficult when you prefer traditional shopping so in that way it really became difficult few months back and it it was definitely not a good experience purchasing from online because the color and sizes it really varies a lot when you order and get delivered to your house and I would always prefer traditional shopping because it gives you a different feeling and experience

    Band 6-7

    For me, finding a watch online is one of the most difficult tasks that I've ever performed. It's a tremendous challenge because finding the right watch for me is just too difficult. The reason why this is such a big challenge is because I was born with tiny wrists. My wrists are so small that most watches don't fit on it. This drastically reduces my ability in order to wear every type of watch. Therefore, whenever I go to see a watch, and I love it, there's a thought which always creeps in my mind, which is, Yash, this watch looks wonderful, but will it fit my small wrist? After which I have to take a lot of time to scroll through the page and finally find the dimensions. Now with the dimensions, I have to check the lug-to-lug measurement, the dial size, and a number of metrics just to see whether it fits within 45 millimeters or not. Once it's finally within 45 millimeters, I can be rest assured that the watch can be purchased. However, this doesn't end over here. Once I find the watch which is the right size, price is always an issue. My watch size happens to be very unusual because of which watch manufacturers usually price it either extremely high or extremely low. Whether it's extremely low quality is a compromise, but if it's extremely high, the quality is top-notch, but I cannot afford it. Therefore, finding a watch for me has always been a trouble.

    Band 6-7

    I faced a problem some 2 years back when I was shopping online. I was shopping, I was purchasing a saree which is an Indian outfit, generally women's, women wears it. I was purchasing it for my mother with, from a well-known e-commerce provider. The ordering process, the online ordering process and the delivery process was fine but there was some issue with the saree. My mother actually didn't liked it, the color of that. It happens sometimes that whatever you see in photos might not be, you will like it in reality. But the problem was not that because my mother was not actually, she wasn't okay with the fabric of that, the feel of the fabric, I choose to return it. Now upon returning, there is a problem which I really faced. The return process was so sluggish that the return never came but the product actually went to them. Now it could be a issue in a supply chain or it could be a manual error as well. But this is a problem which I really faced. Upon inquiring and talking numerous times with the customer care and exchanging a lot of emails with their team, I could not able to find the solution to that. It was time consuming and for most period of the time, I was not able to understand what to do. Luckily, in a span of a month time, I got the response but that was a problem which I really faced and I think it's not just me. A lot of other online shoppers might be facing this in their online journey.

    Band 6-7

    I love shopping online I think it's very time effective but at the same time it has its own downside and it's a hassle when the internet is down so the time or a problem that I So a problem that I had by shopping online was I was shopping for my friend for her birthday it was a very expensive perfume that I saved up for I was saving from a monthly salary just to give that special gift to her but unfortunately while I was trying to buy it from an online store my current went off there was a power cut in my area and I was not aware of it and my mobile data was not working as well so around the time of the payment there was this delay or some glitch that happened while transferring to my UPI and then my somehow money in my bag was debited and but you know the purchase didn't happen and I was panicking because I had to gift her this two days after and somehow thankfully within 24 hours my money was refunded and I was able to buy again online but then this time I was careful to make sure that I've recharged my phone and has full data in my plan so that even if the power goes off I still would be able to buy anything without this hassle so that was a very startling moment for me because I'm very easily anxious about very small thing even though it's solvable at the end but somehow things turn out well I gave the gift to her and she was

    Band 6-7

    Last month, I visited the Shopper's Stove near my neighborhood. I went in search of finding a fruit item named pear. The shop is huge and enormous and it really makes it inconvenient for the customers to actually manually maneuver around and find the items. I seeked the help of a professional assistant there to find me the section of fruits. After a lot of hassle, we finally managed to find the section at the corner of the store. Even though I ended up in the section of fruits, I still got the problem of finding the pear fruit that I wanted. However, the manager, the staff professional saw the immediate disappointment in my face and they reassured me that the fruit is not available in the market. However, due to my emergency, their profound nature of hospitality made them bring the manager who assured me that the fruits will be coming late afternoon that day. So in this way, they ensured that I did end up getting the fruits at the end of the day and this is how I struggled finding my item in the Shopper's Stove.

    Band 6-7

    This incident happened six months ago. I bought a festive kurti to wear for a friend's marriage. The problem that I faced was that the product I received from the company was not the same as given in the image description of the product that I had bought on the store. The product had a deep purple color, as the image showed online, however, the product I received had a more lavender hue to it and the fitting was also not proper and some of the finishing of the stitch was missing, where there were some loose threads as well. I immediately sent a complaint to the company asking for a return and refund for the money for showing poor marketing and also a wrong image description which can be misleading.
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