EBAY - THE FUTURE OF SHOPPING IN 2030

To Travel to 2030, lets have a Blast from Past first! Shopping - A Genesis ;-) Early day's Open Air Markets When early men moved out of the shackles of barbarism, they discovered many things and life changed drastically. For once, they stopped being nomads and started settling down in various corners of this beautiful world, which gave birth to civilizations. They had discovered 'FIRE', which in a way led them to discover the art of cooking, hence food grains/vegetables etc started getting more preference than raw meat. Farming gradually replaced hunting. And yes, the meat too - they started to cook it, instead of eating raw. Then came the introduction of various spices. Not just local ones, but also those from far away places. The famous spice trades led to the discovery of new lands & new people. As population grew, people started to trade off their excess products/wares with those of others, which they were in scarce of. At first, there was a simple system of 'Barter' in place i.e simple exchange of goods. ( You give me your produces - I'll give you mine, kinda ). Later on, coin currency was introduced, so that they could be used for future too, along with the regular purchases ( i.e if a certain product was not currently available and also as a stored value ). Use of money made it easy and initiated the blueprint for the economy. Slowly, this system took its roots firmly. People had their designated spots which were the common 'market' places, where traders would bring their goods from far off places. Yes, they travelled via deserts on camel backs, via water by boats or on the land terrains by bullock-cart caravans. These journeys would sometimes take months to complete.

English Dockyard Markets Early trade also led to colonization and politics thereafter. Our country was one such colony, under the British monarchy for a long time ( and before that - under the Mughals ). As such, most of our precious goods found their way to the British lands. Even in India itself, there were certain privileged zones that were off limits to the local sons-of-the-soil. Such was the case with colonies the world over. Locals were like slaves to these foreign masters. All our precious resources/goods and other produces - the masters enjoyed, leaving the natives only with bare necessities, that too, after toiling all day and paying huge taxes. My grandparents, and later on my parents saw this era, towards the end of the British times. The word 'Shopping' was still alien, whereas across the seas in England, miles away, the Britons would have their market places near the dockyards where the ships would anchor, carrying goods from their colonies. Over there, they'd get them quite cheap, obviously siphoned from countries like ours. The English Mem's & Sahibs would dress in their best and throng these markets to see and buy the loot. For them it was celebration. For us it was - Sigh!

Typical Crowded Market Places After Independence, when we could finally breathe free, did we finally start to get our grip back on things, which we had almost lost. The British had left us with the Railways ( one good thing they did ), which we used to its greatest potential. Airlines followed as well. Besides those already existing, newer factories/industries too came into being and goods produced here were sold at the wholesale markets. The retailers i.e 'banniyas' would bring them further close to our homes and every Sunday became our family shopping day. We'd have to take a rickshaw or cab to the market, and hop from shop to shop buying our requirements. It was tiring with all the travel, plus carrying the heavy shopping bags. And these markets were not really that pleasant to the eyes either, as market places are usually very crowded, disorganized and chaotic. Hence, the shopping experience then was time consuming and expensive too. Nonetheless, we made do with these and finally came to know what 'shopping' was all about.

Posh Shopping Malls In the 90's, our economy was thrown open, and we suddenly saw a deluge of western things flooding in. Everything western; be it Cable Television or Cola Cola or the McDonalds & KFC's - we were invaded again! But this time with western products, brands and ideas. Computers came, so did the internet. And soon Department Stores and Shopping Malls came into existence too, which re-sparked our interest in shopping altogether and took it to greater heights. Malls being attractive and good entertainment centres, everything imaginable came all under one gigantic roof. A single Mall would have various stores within it - from clothing to grocery to accessories and digitals etc. Many of them frequently offered attractive discounts too. Boy, were we impressed! Mostly youngsters and ladies would often throng these malls and they soon became our reason to live, breathe, enjoy and make merry. This was a great gift to my generation. Malls often have multiplexes and food joints near by or attached, which makes shopping a really cool & delightful experience. Though not strenuous, shopping in these malls were still time consuming and we still did have to carry those heavy bags home, after the shopping extravaganza.

Online Shopping Portals Just when we thought life can't get any better than this, we suddenly see the internet opening up in a big way ( it replaced the recently introduced Television-Shopping too which had limited products on offer ). Internet was no longer a mere communications or working medium. In the west, it was already a rage. But it was growing surely and steadily in India too. We Indians at first were a little skeptic, hesitant about shopping online, but many of these shopping portals started sprouting, bringing along with them competitive prices, and also offering some cool customer friendly schemes like 'EMI's, Cash on Delivery, Gift Vouchers and easy Refunds or Replacements' etc. Shopping was never so smooth, so easy. No need to go to the market or malls anymore ( thus cutting down travelling costs and time drastically ). No need to carry heavy bags in the sun or rain. The Malls themselves have now come to us, right on our computer monitor. Everything from electronics/books/clothes/appliances etc were now made available at a simple click of a mouse. I've certainly bought away merrily, from many of these online shops a number of times, and have been greatly satisfied. When we talk 'online shopping' - EBAY comes immediately to our minds. Ebay is the most largest shopping portal worldwide. And it has firmly rooted itself in India too. Good thing about Ebay is, anyone can sell on it - even you and me. Now, isn't that empowering? And with Ebay.in Check introduced recently, it has become further easier. 'Ebay.in Check' is the official 'Ebay India Google Chrome Extension', that gives automatic updates on Ebay prices for any product, anywhere on the net, directly on your Google Chrome Bar! Now, ain't that fast, smooth, easy and hassle free? For shoppaholics like me, it sure is God-sent :-)

Ebay.in - My Favorite Online Shop While I'm currently enjoying my online shopping life to the fullest, I'm wondering how things will be a few years from now - say in the year 2030. With the journey we've been through till now, we can only see it getting better and better, with a wider range of choices and options that will make life so much smoother.

My Dream Shopping @Click of a Button :-) Ah these images above are certainly dreamy, aren't they? When I think of the future or the year 2030, I'm not really excited as such. Well it is 17 years away, and by that time 17 more years will be added to my age. Yeah, I'll be much older then. Well, not really an old woman with all my teeth falling out, greyed hair, or shaking bones either, but old enough. I won't be youthful anymore, like I am right now. I would be nearing that stage which is perhaps called the middle-aged. And yes, who knows I might even start catching some diseases by then too ( though, I hope not ). Now getting older means, I'd want things more easy for me. BUY ALERT :- For instance, I'd like an alert reminder when things would be getting out of stock around the house. There'd be an alert digital 'voice assistant' in my kitchen telling me which stuff needs urgent buying. Same with bathroom toiletries, garage and garden utilities etc. This assistant would know what stuff I generally buy as well as recommend if something new has arrived. And yes, it'll help me choose the best prices too. INSTANT DELIVERY :- If I wake up in the morning and go to my fridge/kitchen and see it empty, I'd want something that'd instantly get me the things I need, for breakfast. Right now EBAY is operating on courier basis, which takes couple of days to be delivered. But in the year 2030, I'll expect things to have changed for the better. I expect EBAY to have tie-ups with all the local grocery/milkman and the vegetable vendors. So that, when I click the special 'shopping-cart key' on my updated futuristic laptop, and digital shopping screens all over my house, I'd get instant delivery of those items. Same goes with food or clothes that I might wanna check out. 3D SENSORS AND VIRTUAL PROJECTOR TRAILS :- Ebay will also have special sensors on their website, that would scan my face or body and display the appropriate sized dress I might need, or the colours that would suit me. I can try them out in their virtual trial room, which will enlarge the image in 3D, and give me a proper idea to go ahead with the purchase. NO HEALTH WORRIES :- Getting old also means I'd require good amount of health supplements and fitness equipments. Ebay thus, should have tie ups with local chemists/vendors dealing with those, so that I can get instant delivery in case my multi-vitamin bottles runs out of its contents. I WISH I GET :- For the younger lot too, I'd expect Ebay to introduce a system of super instant delivery too - and I mean 'real' instant i.e I wish, I get. This is a more advanced option - where I select the required commodity on my digital shopping screen and hit the BUY button. And then, I immediately start receiving it in real time. How I wish things pops out of my computer monitor as soon as I insert my credit card in a special swipe section of my lappy. E-SHOPPING GOES RURAL :- Yes, last but not the least - not just us city dwellers, even those living in remote villages will also experience e-shopping in 2030! Of course, hopefully those villages would turn themselves into hi-tech cities by then. But ah...alas! I hope something of that sort would be figured out too by then. Till then happy shopping with Ebay.in Check! ;-)

  Barter System to Ebay Check; We've come long!
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