Internet Shopping on the Rise

網路購物風潮興起

Daniel Chen

【新聞關鍵字】

1. on the rise ph. 正在上升

2. high street ph. 主要街道; 大街

3. down to ph. 歸因於

4. credit crunch ph. 信用緊縮

5. internet savvy ph. 網路專家

6. consensus profit ph. 協商一致的利潤

7. year on year ph. 年成長率

8. catwalk show ph. 時裝走秀

9. give off ph. 釋放、散發

10. vibe n. 顫動

STORY:

Shoppers tightening their belts during the economic downturn are choosing to make their purchases online. Analysts say a migration of shoppers from thehigh street to online retail sites is down to people wanting to make a saving.

緊束腰帶的購物者們在經濟衰退之時，他們紛紛選擇在線上購物。分析師表示，購物者們從大街轉往線上商店，是因為人們想要省錢。

Alan Clark is an economist at BNP Paribas. He said, “There has been a structural shift, we know that people look at the high street find what they want and then but it cheaper on the internet. So the pure internet component of the national statistics retail sales data has been doing very, very well."

艾倫克拉克，法國巴黎銀行的經濟學者。他說：「過去有一個結構上的轉變，我們知道人們在大街上尋找他們想要的東西，但在另一方面，網際網路上它們更便宜。也因此，在全國性統計的零售資料顯示，純粹的網際網路部份表現非常、非常好。」

One online company which hasn’t felt the credit crunch’s bite is online fashion retailer ASOS. They target internet savvy 16 to 34 year olds looking to copy celebrity styles.

線上時裝零售店ASOS，是一家未感受信用緊縮影響的線上公司。他們的目標鎖定在十六到三十四歲、想要模仿名人穿著的網路專業使用者。

As the second-biggest online fashion retailer behind Next, their sales rose by 104 percent in the year ending March 2009.

做為Next之後的第二大線上時裝零售店，他們的銷售成績在2009年三月底上升了104個百分比。

Their consensus profits were around 14 million pounds, giving them an 80-90 percent increase year on year.

他們協議的利潤大約為一千四百萬英磅，這為它們帶來百分之八十至九十的年成長率。

CEO Nick Robertson forecasts even further growth. He said: “So what we’re seeing now is about four to five percent of fashion bought on the internet in the UK today but that will move to seven or eight or nine percent in the next three to four years."

執行長尼克羅柏森則預測會有更長足的成長。他說：「我們現在看到的是，在英國有大約百分之四到五的時裝商品網路購買量，但是這將會在未來的三到四年成長到百分之七、八，或九。」

The website uses moving images in catwalk shows and photos giving off a fashion vibe to its customers.

他們的網站上使用了時裝走秀的動態影像和照片，散發一種時尚動感給予他的消費顧客群。

【新聞關鍵字】

11. prospect n. 展望

12. in line with ph. 和…一致

13. in which case ph. 在這種情況下

14. proposition n. 事業

15. optimistic adj. 樂觀的

16. online spending ph. 線上消費

17. catch on ph. 流行

18. set one’s sight on 設定目標於…

Robertson also said ASOS is winning the online fashion race in the UK and sees buying products online as the real macro trend.

羅柏森進一步表示，ASOS還贏得了英國的線上時裝競賽，並且他們將線上購物視為一種真實的大眾趨勢。

The company stocks more than 800 brands as well as its own brand and over 21,000 products. He says their positive prospects makes it an attractive investment.

這家公司庫存超過八百個品牌的時裝，加上它們自有品牌，共有超過兩萬一千種產品。他說，他們積極的展望，造就它成為一種吸引人的投資。

[Nick Robertson, CEO, ASOS]:

“We’ve been on the market since 2001 and effectively sales have grown at a compound 80 percent for the last five to six years and profits have been growing in line with that, in which case has made us quite an attractive investment proposition."

[尼克羅柏森，ASOS執行長]：

「我們從2001年就已經在商場上，並且很有效率地，在銷售表現上達到了過去五至六年加起來百分之八十的成長，且利潤也一同成長，在這種情況下，讓我們成為一個相當吸引人的投資事業。」

Analysts are also optimistic about e-tail’s future. [Alan Clark, UK Economist, BNP Paribas]: “I think there is going to be a lot more emphasis on online spending. It’s more efficient, it has been cheaper, I think it’s quite positive."

分析師們對於電子商店的未來也相當樂觀。 [艾倫克拉克，英國經濟學者，法國巴黎銀行]：「我認為將來會有更多的重點放在線上消費。因為它更有效率，而且一直都比較便宜。我認為這相當正面。」

As web trends catch on and more people continue to shop at the touch of a button, ASOS could be setting its sights on the U.S and European markets.

隨著網路趨勢的流行，有更多的人持續透過『按鈕』來購物，ASOS可能會開始設定美國和歐洲為下一個目標市場。

本新聞影音出處：新唐人電視台英語新聞

http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_life/2009-06-18/371469322308.html

更多相關英語學習集結處：http://www.epochtimes.com/b5/ncid205.htm