IELTS WRITING TASK 2

In some countries, small town-centre shops are going out of business because people tend to drive to large out-of-town stores. As a result, people without cars have limited access to out-of-town stores, and it may increase the use of cars.

Do you think the disadvantages of this change outweigh its advantages?

There has been an increase in the number of stores in small towns closing down because of people’s propensity to purchase in shops in the outskirts. Although it may have some drawbacks, I believe the benefits of this trend outweigh its disadvantages.
On the one hand, people owning personal cars may find suburbs stores easily accessible as they can drive there whenever they want; however, the closure of shops in towns would be a problem of people without cars relying on public transportations or other ways of commuting. For example, people have to use buses or taxis to reach those far-away shopping venues, which would cost a fortune in the long run. Furthermore, the distance from consumers’ places to the stores would incentivize people to use cars more often or even increase the number of cars. This can lead to a larger amount of exhausting fumes, contributing to global warming.
On the other hand, despite the demerits, it still has more positive effects. First, the real-estate costs of supermarkets in suburbs tend to cheaper than those in the central towns, which can reduce the operational expenses. This can lower the prices of products and therefore help people save more money. Second, this way of shopping encourages people to reside around these areas, which can alleviate traffic congestions, noise pollution in the downtown. Besides, supermarkets outside the towns seem to have more parking spaces. As a result, people would no longer be annoyed about where to park in such small and dense towns.
In conclusion, more and more people choose to shop in suburbs stores. Even though it has some negative aspects, I lean towards the positive one believing this can improve population distribution and save people’s money.