Choose the best answer.The future of retailIs online shopping killing traditional brick-and-mortar stores? Mark Mason, owner of a sportswear store in Fifth Avenue, New York, thinks that it is. He complains, “The main problem we have nowadays is ‘showroomers’—customers who come into the shop to look at the clothes, touch the clothes and try them on. They don’t buy anything though—at least not from our store. When they find something they like, they go home and try to find it cheaper online. They usually succeed and we don’t ever see them again.”Becca Mason, sales assistant at a nearby bookstore agrees, “The same customers visit the store every week. They spend hours looking through books, but they never make a purchase. Instead, they take photos of the books so they can remember the titles when they go home and look for them online. It’s annoying!”However, the internet doesn’t always have a negative impact on brick-and-mortar stores. In the 14th Street, Joe Jagger’s electrical shop is doing well. He says, “Actually, I find that a lot of our customers look at our products online before they come into the shop to buy things. They read reviews, read the product information and so on. They want to be well-informed before they make a purchase. Coming into the shop and having a conversation with a sales assistant is the final step.”Overall, it seems that online shopping will continue to grow in popularity. However, the game isn’t yet completely over for traditional stores.

Task 1 Read the following passage. Choose the best answer.The future of retailIs online shopping killing traditional brick-and-mortar stores? Mark Mason, owner of a sportswear store in Fifth Avenue, New York, thinks that it is. He complains, “The main problem we have nowadays is ‘showroomers’—customers who come into the shop to look at the clothes, touch the clothes and try them on. They don’t buy anything though—at least not from our store. When they find something they like, they go home and try to find it cheaper online. They usually succeed and we don’t ever see them again.”Becca Mason, sales assistant at a nearby bookstore agrees, “The same customers visit the store every week. They spend hours looking through books, but they never make a purchase. Instead, they take photos of the books so they can remember the titles when they go home and look for them online. It’s annoying!”However, the internet doesn’t always have a negative impact on brick-and-mortar stores. In the 14th Street, Joe Jagger’s electrical shop is doing well. He says, “Actually, I find that a lot of our customers look at our products online before they come into the shop to buy things. They read reviews, read the product information and so on. They want to be well-informed before they make a purchase. Coming into the shop and having a conversation with a sales assistant is the final step.”Overall, it seems that online shopping will continue to grow in popularity. However, the game isn’t yet completely over for traditional stores.