Amazon, always one to push the envelope, took the wraps off of Amazon Dash yesterday. In case you missed it, the latest addition to Amazon’s growing product lineup is a series of oval buttons stamped with the logo of a particular household item that tends to need replenishing on a frequent basis.
For instance, say you’re running low on Tide. Instead of making a mental note to buy more detergent, you can simply press the button on your Tide Amazon Dash widget whereupon it will send a message, via Wi-Fi, to your Amazon mobile shopping app confirming that an order has been placed. Of course, users can pre-determine the quantities they want delivered.
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Some of the common household items that will be Dash capable include razors, toilet paper, juice, diapers, dog food, detergent, trash bags, and even food items like macaroni and cheese.
While it remains to be seen how Amazon Dash resonates with consumers, you have to at least give Amazon some props for doing everything imaginable to suck users into the Amazon universe. At the same time, it’s never a good sign when a company has to reassure everyone that their latest product is, in fact, real and not an April Fools Day prank.
Alas, with the reception to Amazon Dash being all over the map, Amazon actually had to issue an official statement to The New York Times confirming, once and for all, that Amazon Dash is not a joke.
Amazon’s move is important, if not a bit outrageous. After seeing single-purpose hardware built just for ordering more toilet paper, some people on Twitter wondered if Amazon Dash was an early April Fools’ Day prank. (Amazon confirmed it is a real product.)
As it stands now, Amazon Dash is by invitation only and is only being made available to
