2. Read the text. Then answer the questions.
(Đọc văn bản. Sau đó trả lời các câu hỏi.)
1. What is 'showrooming? Have you or someone you know ever showroomed?
(Hành vi xem sản phẩm mẫu là gì? Bạn hoặc ai đó bạn biết đã bao giờ chỉ xem sản phẩm chưa?)
2. Do you prefer to buy things in shops or online? Why?
(Bạn thích mua các thứ trong cửa hàng hay mua trực tuyến hơn? Tại sao?)
3. Should you expect to pay more for goods in a shop than on a website? Why? /Why not?
(Bạn có nghỉ rằng mình phải trả cho hàng hóa trong cửa hàng nhiều hơn trên trang web không? Tại sao?)
4. What would you do if you had to pay to look around a shop?
(Bạn sẽ làm gì nếu phải trả tiền để xem cửa hàng?)
That'll be $5, please.
A health food shop in Adelaide, Australia, has decided to charge customers S5 for "just looking". The problem is that customers keep coming into the shop and leaving without buying anything. “They pretend to be interested in a product and ask for advice,” says Kate Reeves, the shop owner, "but they usually don't buy anything."
This new phenomenon is called "showrooming". People visit a shop, examine a product, and then buy it online, where it is cheaper. Kate says she spends hours every day talking about products with customers "I can't stand working and not getting paid," she says. 'No one can make me work for free!'
Everyone avoids paying more than they have to, but customers fail to realise that Kate's prices are mostly the same as in larger stores and on websites. They prefer to shop elsewhere as they expect to find the product at a lower price. "If customers choose to buy something, I return the $5 fee," says Kate.
Many shops face the same problem and some may end up introducing a similar charge. The danger is that it asks putting customers off. But Kate in Adelaide says it has made no difference to her business.
