A few weeks ago, I had the good fortune of spending a couple of days back on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Talk about a place to practically see every type of bar on the planet in just a handful of city blocks. Bars that housed every single kind of Tequila, ones that had awful singers on stage doing karaoke, and cowboy bars ready to throw unsuspecting drinkers from the mechanical bull. When bars get really crowded, you are lucky if the bartender can hear your order while the noise from the music blasts at a decibel level ready to blow your eardrums. While technology continues to change our day to day lives, it will soon change the bars of the future. Here are just a few things coming to a pub down the street from you.
Radio Frequency Identification Bracelets (RFID) will change the way of the bar of the future. In places like Disney World, RFID bracelets are encoded with credit card information to get access to rides like Space Mountain. Imagine that you can go to beer pouring stations in the middle of the bar and get a glass of beer whenever you want, and your RFID bracelet will be tied to your credit card so you don’t have to hassle with the bartender?
- Music jukeboxes aren’t the way they were when I played them at the diner back in 1976. The future jukeboxes will be able to be controlled right from your smartphone through an app. You’ll be able to buy coins to drop in the jukebox and play songs anytime you want while you are in the future bar.
- As outdoor cameras are installed outside of popular bars and nightclubs in the city, you’ll be able to access apps like www.scenetap.com to quickly assess the female to male (or vice versa) ratio as well as ascertain the average age in the club.
- You may have already noticed for wine enthusiasts that nitrous oxide machines are popping up all over the place. This allows you to visually see 10 to 20 different kinds of wines already uncorked and kept fresh for a sip of wine or a full glass whenever you want a pour.
- Your smartphones that hook into wi-fi networks will give bars much better access to data to know how many customers come in and out of the bar as well as whether or not you are a repeat customer. How about a 2 for 1 drink special loaded right into your phone?
While many of these advancements seemed like a video clip from an episode of the Jetson’s, they are literally on the verge of becoming mainstream over the next five years. Keep an eye out for the bar of the future and grab a seat to watch technology transform our experience when we hit the club.
Written by:
Ted Jenkin
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Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®, is co-CEO of oXYGen Financial and is a top ranked personal finance blogger (www.yoursmartmoneymoves.com). He is a regular contributor to Investment News, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through NFP Advisor Services, LLC (NFPAS), Member FINRA/SIPC. Oxygen Financial is not affiliated with NFPAS.
