1.

Shopping
 Do people in your country enjoy going to open-air markets
that sell things like food or clothes or old objects? Which
type of market is more popular? Why?
Yes, people in my country do enjoy going to open-air markets that
sell various food, clothing items and old objects. In fact, most
Vietnamese markets traditionally are open-air street markets,
apart from the “supermarkets” and “city markets” in some kind of
building structures in thriving metropolises. These traditional
markets are very popular among the Indians for centuries. These
open-air markets enjoy huge popularity among Vietnamese
residents mainly since all commodities sold there are mostly
affordable. Besides, food and vegetables at these marketplaces
are favored also because of their freshness.
 Do you think markets are more suitable places for selling
certain types of things? Which ones? Why do you think this
is?
Yes, traditionally, markets are more suitable places for selling, not
just certain types of things but all kinds of things, mainly because
of the conveniences and benefits they provide. In fact, it is not
realistic to expect that the buyers will visit from place to place for
hours and days in order to find and buy what they need. Selling
everything at markets also ensures that both the vendors and
shoppers are getting the “fair” market prices of their products and
commodities since there is always some room for “bargaining”.
Besides, when it comes to monitoring and regulations, it is much
easier to monitor and regulate markets by the government
authorities for all kinds of smooth transactions, monetary or
otherwise.
 Do you think young people feel the same about shopping at
markets as older people? Why is that?
I don’t really think that youngsters feel the same about shopping
at markets as older people mainly because it is not that
convenient to shop in a market. At markets, one has to go from
one place to another to buy certain things, which is a time-
consuming and frustrating affair at times, while young people
usually prefer to hang out with friends in one place and go
window shopping these days. While older people would prefer to
save some money, because of their traditional beliefs and
lifestyles, by buying things at markets, young people nowadays
may not actually be that enthusiastic about belt-tightening.
 What do you think are the advantages of buying things from
shops rather than markets?
One of the greatest advantages of buying things from a shop,
rather than markets, is that buying at shops is much less time-
consuming since many/all commodities can be purchased pretty
much from the same shop. Besides, buying things at shops is far
more convenient since one doesn’t really have to struggle with the
heat of the sun, cold or rain in the open as opposed to purchasing
things at markets. Finally, it is better to pick up things from shops
because some products actually remain well-preserved and
healthy most of the time which may not be the case when buying
things from markets.
 How does advertising influence what people choose to
buy? Is this true for everyone?
Advertisements try to influence people in some creative and some
tricky ways. Frequent adverts on different media cast an impact
on our minds, particularly on our subconscious minds. So, when
we intend to buy something, we recall the advertisement and ask
the seller if they could provide us with products of a particular
brand. Since advertisers always publicise the benefits of a
product, we tend to believe that those products are far better than
others.
Being influenced by advertisements is a common phenomenon but
this is not true for everyone. A large number of people do not rely
on advertisements, they would rather take decisions based on
their real-life experiences and recommendations from people they
trust.
 Do you think that any recent changes in the way people live
have affected general shopping habits? Why is this?
Yes, I do think that recent changes, in the way people live, have
considerably affected general shopping habits. In fact, our
expectations have increased in many folds since, these days, we
prefer more convenience, comfort and luxury than our
“conventional, moderate and economic lifestyles” can offer. For
instance, we are not really happy and satisfied with a “regular”
affordable clothing item, made by some unknown local
companies, we instead look for opulent clothing items made by
some famous international brands because we most probably
want to feel more “valuable” and stylish than the “average”.
Besides, we have too many choices and we have created a
throwaway society with our consumerism habits.