24 Collocations Related to Shopping

24 Collocations Related to Shopping (with Meanings & Examples)

Hello English learners! Welcome to a new lesson. Today, we’re going to explore 24 extremely useful collocations related to shopping — expressions that native speakers use every day when talking about buying things, spending money, and visiting shops.

If you want your English to sound more natural and fluent (especially at B2–C1 level and in Cambridge exams), learning collocations is essential. They help you sound more natural, avoid strange word combinations, express ideas more precisely and understand real-life English more easily.

Let’s start shopping — linguistically, at least. 😉

Types of shopping

Online shopping – buying things on the internet

Online shopping is quick and convenient.

Second-hand shopping – buying used items

She loves second-hand shopping for vintage clothes.

Luxury shopping – buying expensive, high-end items

They went luxury shopping in Paris.

High street shopping – shopping in the main shopping street (UK)

We spent the whole afternoon high street shopping, popping into little boutiques and big chain stores and only stopping when our feet finally started to hurt.

Window shopping – looking without buying

I often go window shopping when I don’t really need anything — it helps me relax and get new ideas without spending a single pound.

Money, prices & behaviour

Bargain hunting – looking for cheap deals

He’s very good at bargain hunting and somehow always comes home with great things he paid almost nothing for.

Snap up a bargain – buy something cheap quickly

She snapped up a bargain in the sales before anyone else could get their hands on it.

Impulse buying – buying without planning

Supermarkets encourage impulse buying by putting chocolate, magazines, and other tempting things right next to the checkout.

Splash out on – spend a lot of money on something nice

They splashed out on a new TV.

Retail therapy – shopping to feel better

Gabi has always believed in retail therapy after a bad week.

Out of stock – not available

The shoes I wanted are out of stock.

Places & people

Shopping centre / shopping mall – place with many shops

Did you know that they’ve opened a big shopping centre near my flat.

Shop assistant – person who helps customers

The shop assistant helped Sara choose a jacket.

Shop window – front window showing products

The shop window was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

Farmer’s market – market selling local food

Sandra bought fresh vegetables at the farmer’s market.

Shopping actions

Go shopping – go to buy things

I’m going shopping this afternoon.

Do the shopping – buy food and household items

I usually do the shopping on Saturdays.

Shop around – compare prices

It’s a good idea to shop around before buying a phone.

Buy wholesale – buy in large quantities cheaply

The restaurant buys ingredients wholesale.

Shopping list – list of things to buy

Don’t forget to put milk on the shopping list.

Fun, excess & problems

Shopping spree – period of spending a lot of money

She went on a shopping spree after getting paid.

Shop till you drop – shop until you’re exhausted

We shopped till we dropped before Christmas.

Treat yourself to – buy something nice for yourself

I treated myself to a new pair of shoes.

Shoplifting – stealing from a shop

Shoplifting is a serious crime.

Quick tip

❌ do a shopping

✅ do the shopping

❌ make shopping

✅ go shopping

Final thought

Shopping is something we all do — and English has a lot of natural expressions for talking about it. If you master these collocations, your English will sound more fluent, more natural and more confident.

And best of all — no receipt required. 😄

Collocations Related to Shopping

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