Amazon Dash Button – the magic shopping button now in UK

Are you too busy to shop for household essentials? Do you forget to reorder dishwasher tablets or coffee capsules frequently? Then the retail giant Amazon has launched just the solution for you – the Amazon Dash Button. Amazon Dash Button is a Wi-Fi connected device that reorders your favourite product at the press of a button.

From yesterday, Amazon Prime customers in the UK, Germany and Austria are able to reorder household essentials at the touch of this one-button ordering device. Within 24 hours the product will be delivered to your home. Each device is dedicated to a single product and costs £4.99. So if you want this service for two different products, you would need a separate device for each. However, the initial cost of the Dash Button will be refunded as a discount with your first order.

Amazon Dash Button is kid-friendly too. So if you have kids who take delight in pushing the wrong buttons repeatedly (in the literal sense), you will not be delivered a truckload of toilet papers. Once an order is placed, subsequent button presses will be ignored for the next 24 hours (i.e. until the first order is delivered).

Amazon has also launched the Dash Replenishment Service (DRS) which enables connected devices to order physical goods from Amazon when supplies are running low—like a Brita Water Pitcher that orders more filters. Companies including Bosch,Samsung, Siemens and Whirlpool are already working on integrating Dash Replenishment into their products. This service can be expanded to deliver printer inks, dishwasher tablets, bin liners, batteries and even dog food.

In the UK, Amazon Dash has launched with 48 brands in the scheme.

So here are some goods and bads in my humble opinion:

When Amazon Dash Button was launched in the USA last year on 31st March, some customers thought it was an April Fool’s joke. It is an unbelievably awesome innovation that makes our lives simpler… and perhaps even lazier. I think this technology is amazing! Through this thumb-sized device, Amazon has shown that the Internet of Things can transform our homes, lifestyle and even workplaces. Dash Buttons like Rexel and GBC that deliver stationery items can be handy for a small office.

However, I think this would make me less prudent about household consumption and expenditure, especially if I don’t keep tabs on how many times I am pressing that button. And what is more worrying is that I would be tied to a brand instead of getting out there and exploring more brands and products for price and quality efficiency, which is so unlike me. But if you have your go-to brands, then the Amazon Subscription Service is probably a better choice, especially if the items are non-perishable goods.

I saw a Play-Doh dash button which can deliver Play-Doh Sparkle Compound which costs about £6.00. So you mean that £6.00 pack is going to make its way down the already busy roads to my home instead of heading to a shop where I can pick everything up in one go? Considering the possible environmental impact, I think I would rather buy things in bulk using this technology. The Andrex Dash Button which delivers 45 rolls (for circa £17.50) looks appealing to me for this reason. But then on second thoughts, my local supermarket (Tesco) is cheaper.

I am not worried that this retail giant will be capturing and analysing my shopping habits. But I don’t think anyone using the Durex Dash Button will be thinking the same… unless the idea is to be a brag! 😉

So what do you think about this device? Are you going to get yours? If you are from the US, how actively have you been using the dash button? Share your thoughts in the comments below or on any of the social media networks.