Almost out of coffee pods? Press a button, and Amazon will deliver some more.
Desperately need some more "X", right away? Press a button, and Amazon will deliver some more. And "X" can be anything you see in the picture below, with more products brands inevitably to follow.
Does this certainly sounds like science-fiction, or an April Fool's Day joke delivered one day early? Yes. But according to Amazon's website, Amazon Dash is real and Amazon Prime members can request an invitation to participate in the program right now.
Amazon just reinvented the way we shop, again.
When I first read the headline, I had a number of questions. But Amazon appears to have anticipated these questions, and have already provided replies on their website. Below are my questions (in italics), and the text from the Amazon Dash homepage (in quotations):
How does this work? "Dash button comes with a reusable adhesive and a hook so you can hang, stick, or place it right where you need it... When you're running low [on your favourite products], simply press Dash Button, and Amazon quickly delivers household favourties so you can skip the last-minute trip to the store."
Is this complicated to set-up? "Dash Button is simple to set up. Use the Amazon app on your smartphone to easily connect to your home WiFi network and select the product you want to reorder with Dash Button. Once connected, a single press automatically places your order."
How do I know the order has gone through? And what if I change my mind post-press? "Amazon sends an order alert to your phone, so it's easy to cancel if you change your mind."
I have young children who love pushing buttons! Isn't this trouble waiting to happen? "Unless you elect otherwise, Dash Button responds only to your first press until your order is delivered."
Aren't shipping costs going to make these frequent product deliveries very expensive?
Actually, this question wasn't directly covered on the website... and it didn't have to be. Amazon Dash is only being made available to Amazon Prime members, who pay an annual fee for the privilege of free 2-day shipping. So all of this convenience would be included as a benefit of a Prime membership.
Another question not covered on the website: is this going to be expensive for Amazon? My best guess? Almost certainly! But the logistics were expensive when Jeff Bezos first opened the world's largest bookstore, and with scale came cost savings. Next, it was expensive when Amazon moved into selling other categories, but with scale came cost savings. Then, it was expensive when Amazon introduced Amazon Prime (and the associated free two-day shipping), but... well, you get the picture.
The real question is not whether this will be expensive, but rather, how much additional scale will Amazon be able to achieve as a result?
How many consumer dollars will Amazon capture at the expense of grocery, mass, drug, and club retailers by offering the convenience of household staples on-demand, without any extra charge? How much loyalty will the Amazon brand earn as a result of Amazon Dash? And what are these things ultimately worth on Amazon's financial statements?
Amazon Dash is a game-changer for brands.
Most brands continually compete for household penetration. Small brands fight to steal share from the market leaders, and market leaders fight to ensure their consumers don't ever switch to lower-cost competitors.
What Amazon Dash has done, for its "button partners" has essentially locked in their loyalty. It's not guaranteed, of course: even with a Tide button fixed on their washing machine, there's nothing to stop a consumer from buying a competitive laundry detergent if they see it on-sale during their weekly grocery shopping trip. But that Amazon Dash button represents something more than convenience for consumers; it represents one less decision they have to make, one less item on the shopping list they have to worry about. And when brand purchases become automatic, that's the holy grail for marketers.
That also likely addresses how Amazon can afford to do this; I'd be shocked if "button partners" aren't paying a hefty fee for the privilege of participating. (I'm curious if Amazon is offering any category exclusivity, at a higher fee, of course.)
For brands, such a fee would be worth every single penny.
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