I know this is all just my imagination but seriously..I think I am falling in love with 2030..and wish I could just reach there right now!
Right now, if anyone does a google search on 'Future of Shopping' one will immediately get ideas ranging from having a 'Shop' Button on the computer keyboard to having a 'Shopping Cart' at top of every webpage! But I think these are too small dreams! This is time to go completely crazy,right?
To be surrounded by flying cars, houses on water, anytime shopping, instant delivery, on-the-road shopping and what not, it will be a delight to live in 2030!
Okay,let me start from the beginning..
The world is quite a different place as we have recently been freed from the horrors of yet another world war and seems like all the democratic,liberal forces have won and formed an alliance to keep the tyrants at bay.
Science and Technology has developed in leaps and bounds and thanks to the generous grants from liberal governments and corporations, it is easy to get new technology in the market every single day! Market forces do not rule anymore.
Even if one person wants to buy something it is available to that person alone! How,you ask?
Simple-
whenever a baby is born, a simple chip (Life Chip) is inserted in his/her wrist. This chip works as a personal Identity Card Plus synchronizes the brain waves of the person with exterior world! So the baby gets the vaccines automatically on time and is protected from environmental extremes.
This chip is just the starting point. From the time a baby is born, his/her mood is synchronized with everything around him/ her! A person's cellphone, Television, Laptop, Tablets are all connected together with the chip! So if the person feels cold, automatically he gets an update on the cellphone to visit the nearest store to buy woolen clothes! If he is hungry, he gets updates on the latest deals at the nearest restaurant immediately thanks to his brain waves that communicate his hunger to the Life Chip!
When he watches a movie, all he needs to point his chip to the screen whenever he likes a particular costume or bike or accessory and he will get all the information on how/ where to buy that!
Not only that, depending on his personal history of shopping (stored on his Chip), upbringing, school records, college records, social status, he gets relevant recommendations as the movie progresses-about the travel deals to places the movie has been shot at, the celebrity styles, makeup tips and so on! All the information is recorded and saved in his chip for easy access later :)
When he is travelling, he will be automatically updated on where to stop for food, rest, upcoming weather conditions so that every second he is updated on how his travel plans are holding up!
And whenever he needs to buy anything, he simply uses his
Life Credits that are automatically updated on his chip through Scholarships, Jobs, Gifts, Prizes won in contests, even good deeds and Charity gets everyone Credits (thus there are no Winners or Losers in 2030!). These Credits are then used for shopping anytime, anywhere.
Finally,
3 D Projection & Printing has made such progress that anything can be bought and it appears before us in a matter of minutes! Food, Perfumes, Clothes, we can get anything within minutes-Think of it like this, we use Phone and Television where our voice and images travel through distances within seconds,right? Similarly, in 2030 scientists have made it easy for all the products's molecules to be broken down in such a way that they disassemble when we buy anything and then reassemble on reaching the destination!
For the deaf, the blind, mute and other disabled or differently-abled people, the
Chip has inbuilt sensors that understands their brain waves and automatically places orders for what they are thinking about. This is a technology that has been perfected very recently and will be made better in days to come :)
Robotics has also made wonderful progress to replace the old-time excuse Queen maids; be companions for disabled and old people and they automatically place orders for household stuff and for those they are caring for. Not only that, they can also put requisition orders for regularly used products on autopilot and it will be refilled on time, month after month, no worries for anybody!
The sunglasses we buy, the clothes we buy are automatically synchronized with our chip data and our personal Robots' feed. So whenever my clothes get dirty, my Robot gets an automatic instruction to wash it that night! My Sunglasses have a little viewing box which I can activate and use as scanning device if I find anything interesting while walking on the road!
Since our medical histories, our studies' records, our marriage records etc. are also constantly updated on our Life Chip, we don't need to worry about getting vaccinated against latest diseases or about getting new books before preparing for an exam.
Our Chip automatically reminds us that we need new book or new supply of monthly medicine for any ailment and as soon as we approve Life Credits Debit from my account, we get everything we need in the mode most comfortable for our lifestyle (physical or digital, permanent or temporary!)
This is not to say that there are no more malls!
People still like to visit malls, even with their robots in tow :) But there are no more queues, people just need to scan their Life Chips whenever they pick any product off the shelf and it is deducted from their Life Credit! If a person does not have enough Credits to pay,then the product repels,yes it actually repels the hand and goes back to the shelf! For those who plan on cheating and stealing, the
products come with a little technology to give electric shock to thieves!
Most of the shelves have just a prototype of product on the shelf with scan codes given alongside which can be scanned via mobile or tablet or even a Life Chip and the product simply appears at home within designated time period :)
Even while simply passing through the mall, while doing window shopping,one can easily look at probable looks & possibilities after buying any commodity as there are passer-by trial rooms and scanners activated whenever somebody desires to buy anything!
There are no more plastic bags to be used,no more pollution on that account, since products are teleported!
Payment is done not only by Life Credits but also by activities!
Every good activity gets one extra credits which can be immediately redeemed. Being a good citizen by using public transport (flying metros!) is better than using private cars that run on hydrogen fuel! That means,by the time I leave my house and reach the store I get extra credits and I can redeem them for a movie voucher!
If I want something at leisure,I can ask for a home delivery, old-time style :D Nostalgia Overdrive,right? And I can give extra credits to the delivery man or the delivery robot as tip! It also increases my own credits (for being a good samaritan!)
Barter System has also come back in full force because people have turned into aware citizens. Since everybody wants a clean,green planet (we have woken up to horrors of Global Warming,finally!) everybody has been in favor of bringing it back and thus governments around the world have agreed to use it as a form of new currency. Since the world is now a really small place and everybody is connected all the time, we can always exchange our products to get what we need in exchange for giving somebody else what they need! It doesn't matter if we are separated by 2 countries or 3 continents or 5 rivers!
This can be done between 2 people directly or via a 3rd party too! I have a bunch of vintage Batman comics and I can exchange them to shop for a brand new pair of sneakers from Ebay while somebody else can buy them from Ebay in exchange for a brand new Hair straightener and finally the Hair Straightener can make its way to a genius Web Developer in charge of maintaining the ultra smooth and extra busy Ebay website :)
Due to this, the scale of economies has also become very efficient and there is no compulsion for mass production!
If I need a unique product, I can simply procure all the raw materials through Online or Offline shopping and get the genius mastermind who has impressed me to build a unique product for me using them! I need only pay him for his precious time and energy! Value for money and One of a Kind Shopping System Indeed!
Since
all the forums and communities of the world are connected like never before, it is extremely easy to keep track of all the developments and events happening around the world. Tickets for various entertainment options can be procured very easily through multiple modes too. With every cellphone having 3 D Projection (even to IMAX standards) we can easily create our own theatre and beam latest movies wherever we want, as long as we pay the Intellectual Licensing and Event Organizing Fees :) Since the liberal regimes have taken over the planet, the Fees Schedules have also become very simple and democratized for everyone to remember and follow. And best part,
we can pay via money, barter system or by undertaking activities for the good of the society!!
Everything I ever buy or wish for is neatly categorized in my Chip, all my cellphones and laptops and synchronized with my family members' history too, so that no matter where I am,whatever gadget I am using,I am 24/7 connected with the world and that too in a shopping mode! It feels like heaven,doesn't it, even thinking about all this? :)
Is it any wonder I want to live in 2030 as soon as possible ? :D
-Dreaming on,
Richa :)
This post is written fo
r The Future of Shopping contest on Indiblogger sponsored by
Ebay India !