It’s been nearly a year since Amazon.com introduced Dash which, at the time, was a bar code-reading “magic wand” that enabled Amazon Prime customers to order any item they’d like with the wave of their hands. During the ensuing year Dash has morphed into an entirely different animal which should prove much better both for Amazon Prime customers as well as selected brands who entered the program.

The new Dash Button for Prime members is a stick-on button that carries the brand of frequently-bought groceries, like coffee, laundry detergent, dishwashing soap and the like. As you can see in the video below, it makes ordering simple and, with the advancements that Amazon has made in rapid delivery of ordered items, fulfillment is very quick as well.

 

The evolution to Dash Buttons solves a couple of problems for Amazon and its customers. The initial “wand” enabled Amazon customers to scan barcodes on any items in an individual’s home. In many cases, these were items that Amazon did not stock in local facilities, which raised the question “What good is rapid ordering of goods that are out of stock.” Associating the button with a single brand is a way of ensuring rapid delivery of items in stock.

The introduction of Dash Buttons moves the world one step closer to automatic ordering of specific consumables. The one-to-one association of a consumable with the appliance that consumes it (Maxwell House Coffee on your Mr. Coffee or Tide on your washing machine) gets Amazon this close to automatic ordering of goods based on consumption. Last year Dash was a wand that required a sweep of the hand and could order any good. This year Dash is a button that requires its owner to press it when he or she deems it time to order a specific product. Next year (if it takes that long) it will be a sensor that knows when to order coffee based on the intent of the owner and the associated EOQ (economic order quantity).

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