Naughty or nice gifts in 2031

Robots will help with everything in the 2031 home, from shopping and cleaning to caring for older family members.

THINK Christmas shopping 2011, think the hell of packed malls, Boxing Day sales spats and no parking spaces.

Fast forward 20 years to 2031, and the Christmas of the future paints a different picture, with robots and 'hyperpersonalisation' transforming the way we do our Christmas shopping.

Futurist for leading online department store oo.com.au Morris Miselowski has predicted how technologies will impact on consumer shopping habits 20 years from now.

From 3D printers that physically make products in our own homes, to holograms that take 'trying before you buy' to a whole new level and robots that look after our kids and restock our cupboards, newly-emerging inventions will make their way into the homes of everyday Aussies, totally changing the way we live and shop.

Some Miselowski predictions for how we'll be shopping in 2031:

1. We'll order gifts - food, clothes and other objects - and have them built before our very eyes at home with 3D printers and fax machines. Many retail purchases will routinely be delivered by 3D printers and fax machines that we will have at home and at work. This invention allows bespoke, real time buying, so consumers can order an item online from a department store such as oo.com.au and then create it at home through a 3D fax that will 'print' items.

2. We'll be using holograms for a true 'try before you buy' experience. Hologram technology, which we will have in our own homes and also in stores, will allow us to virtually try on clothes (without physically doing so) and see furniture and electronics in position at home before we buy them.

3. Mobile technologies will connect us with all our belongings, ensuring we know exactly when they need replacing or upgrading and sometimes they'll upgrade themselves. If our favourite old rug is about to wear through, we'll know about it - making it easy to let friends and family know what we really need for Christmas.

4. We'll buy each other robots! Not quite R2D2, robots will be single, multiple use devices inside our homes, cars and work. These machines will provide routine chores and services - we'll buy robots to clean, cook and care.