Futurists predict 7 things that Amazon could be selling us by 2028 by Paul Schrodt on Jan 11, 2018, 12:45 PM Advertisement
 - MONEY spoke to futurists to get an idea of what we can expect Amazon to sell in the near future.
- By 2028, Amazon will likely sell products like VR vacations and smarter 'smart' TVs.
- They also predicted the company will disrupt marketplaces like the prescription drug business and create new, secure cities of the future.
Amazon has found its way into just about every part of people's shopping lives.
Once a fledgling online bookstore, the tech giant has changed retail as we know it. It has disrupted the selling of gadgets, household goods, and now even high-end groceries, having snapped up Whole Foods for $13.7 billion. But it's clear Amazon has much bigger ambitions than just that. With its investment in its popular Echo voice-activated assistant and its ambitions in drones, the company wants to find even more ways to make sure you rely on it to get what you want. As we look at the year ahead, we asked two leading futurists to predict what Amazon will be selling you in a decade. SEE ALSO: 5 habits from billionaire Jeff Bezos that can help anyone advance their career 1. VR vacations  Virtual reality is the latest obsession in Silicon Valley. Amazon hasn't done much with the technology, but futurist Dr. James Canton, a former Apple executive and chairman of the Institute for Global Futures, expects that to change. Right now products are shown on Amazon in a linear fashion, but in not too long, customers could enjoy VR-enhanced shopping. "One, they're going to move into services, and two, build a world that you can enter into with VR to not just buy things but have experiences," Canton said. "The retail experience in VR will be both tactile and sensory-rich. You're going to pay for a 20-min ride on top of Everest or surf a 50-foot wave." You might not even need to make it to a Tesla showroom in order to test-drive its latest model.
2. A new world of prescription drugs "The next marketplace is health enhancement," Canton said. Fears that Amazon could disrupt the lucrative pharmaceutical business have already sent shockwaves through the stock market. As people live longer, the tech giant could play a vital role in managing people's health, from vitamins and diagnostics to, yes, prescription drugs. "You're talking about a whole distributed healthcare system they'll play a role in," Canton added. One way in which Amazon could dramatically alter how you take drugs involves 3D printing, which would allow for more customization. "I actually think they're going to get into 3D-printed pharmaceuticals, hyper-individualized medication," said futurist, author, and speaker Thomas Frey. "Doctors can prescribe 200 mg, 400 mg of this certain drug, but the ideal dosage for you might be 147 mg on that specific day. We haven't been able to work with that level of precision, not yet. I think we could easily move into that very soon."
3. A much smarter 'smart TV' Amazon has already disrupted Hollywood with its Amazon Studios, behind award-winning shows and movies like Transparent and Manchester by the Sea, which means it's only natural that it will work harder on how people consume programming. "TV is still such a primitive technology," Frey said. He often asks himself what the TV of the future will look like. "Will it still be an appliance at the end of the room, or will it be a projection, holographic? Will we be able to interact with it?" Patents have stifled innovators, he adds, but he believes Amazon could very well move the technology forward with a TV "you can work your way around real quickly." Imagine Alexa, but for the small screen. "Obviously they're becoming a leading player in entertainment," Canton added. He more broadly envisions Amazon developing "new media brands and franchises" that wouldn't otherwise exist in order to tap unserved markets.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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