UNIT

e-commerce
A Complete the text with the best word.

7 e-commerce

Language work

Vocabulary

Online shopping expected to keep growing

In its first annual report, published today, the Interactive Media Retail Group said it expected 4m more Britons to online shop .......... . . 1 this year, taking the total shoppers to 24m, more than half the UKs adult population. The latest figures underline the sharp . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 of internet shopping in the decade since the launch of Netscape Navigator, the first widely available internet . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, in 1994. While internet shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 for just 300m of retail sales in 1999, by 2004 consumers were spending 14.5bn online, according to IMRG. For a sector to have grown from scratch in 10 years with very little investment suggests that the internets time has come, said James Roper, IMRG chief executive. Internet shopping is easier, more convenient and offers bigger ......... . . . 5 and a lot of the major retailers are having to get to grips with it because consumers are dragging them into the space. The larger retailing groups Argos, Dixons, Tesco and Boots are . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 money on developing their internet offering, but many retail chains are not investing in online shopping, which in turn is allowing new entrants to gain a . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 in the market. But in spite of the neglect from retail chains, the growing popularity of online shopping looks set to continue as more people gain . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 to the internet. . . . . . . . . . . . 9 out last year showed that more than 56 per cent of homes had internet access, with a third of those having a broadband . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. The . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 of mobile commerce technology could also mean that people will be able to shop online from their mobile phones.

Across 1 Safebiz.com is a very successful site which gets over 2,000 ................... per day. (4) 4 An even more popular ................... is Interbiz.com, with almost 20,000 visitors a week. (4) 6 The equivalent of paper junk mail is called ................... . (4) 7 The Internet still means fun to a lot of people, but on the other hand it often means hard ................... to business people. (4) 8 Businesses which ................... to seize the opportunities offered by e-commerce might not be able to survive. (4) 9 Ordering .......... dramatically reduces the cost of a transaction. (6) 10 The registered title used by an Internet site is its ................... name. (6) Down 2 If you want your website to get a lot of ................... , make sure you register it with all the major search engines. (7) 3 If you save information from the Internet into one of your computer files, we say that you ................... the information. (8) 4 e-commerce means buyers with computers can now ................... a global network of approved suppliers linked over the Net. (4) 5 Many e-mail programmes ................... files before sending them in order to make transmission easier and quicker. (6) 6 A ................... engine is a program that seeks out, visits and indexes websites. (6)

Language work

Language review Conditions

A Rewrite the following as conditional sentences.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

a) Internet a) explosion a) browser a) accounted a) sorts a) investing a) start-up a) connection a) Figures a) screen a) expanding

b) computer b) boost b) mouse b) amounted b) goods b) spending b) segment b) access b) Digits b) connection b) raise

c) online c) boom c) catalogue c) totalled c) ranges c) paying c) gap c) opening c) Numbers c) link c) future

d) digital d) growth d) provider d) added d) kinds d) lending d) foothold d) provider d) Percentages d) disk d) emergence

Vocabulary +

B Use the clues on page 29 to complete the e-crossword.

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6

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1 Fortunately expense reports are filed via the intranet, so they can be paid within 48 hours. werent filed via the intranet, they couldnt be paid If expense reports ................................................................ within 48 hours .................................................................................... . 2 They promoted their website through TV ads, so they soon got over 2,000 hits a day. If they ............................................................................... ..................................................................................... . 3 They never listened to their customers comments and suggestions, so they werent able to improve their online services. If they ............................................................................... ..................................................................................... . 4 We have a competitive market for Internet access because our telecommunications environment has been deregulated. If our telecommunications environment ......................................... ..................................................................................... . 5 We invested so much in e-commerce development that our total online sales increased tenfold over a year. If we ................................................................................. ..................................................................................... . 6 Unfortunately we didnt understand the potential impact of e-purchasing early enough, so we are lagging behind our competitors. If we ................................................................................. ..................................................................................... .

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