Once again Amazon expands its Dash program, removing shopping friction along the way
It used to be that if you ran out of laundry detergent, the dirty clothes would pile up. Those days may soon be over as Amazon (AMZN) is rolling out virtual Dash buttons to third-party screens, like those now found on washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and other appliances. This further extends Amazon’s reach into the home as it removes the pain point that is running out of detergent, laundry soap, dryer sheets and others consumables used in and around the home. Pretty sneaky… sneaky like a fox because Dash buttons are only available to Prime members.
Amazon is adding a new collection of smart products — that can place orders when supplies run low — to its Dash replenishment program, the company announced in a press release.
The new additions include household brands, such as HP, Kenmore, 3M’s Filtrete, Epson and Blustream. Amazon will now also offer devices from illy and Petcube.With the program, smart devices can measure product consumption through a variety of inputs, including infrared, pressure flow, weight and other sensor arrays. Before supplies run out, the measurement triggers an automatic reorder from Amazon.For example, a Dash replenishment-enabled washing machine can automatically reorder detergent, or a smart printer can automatically reorder ink.
In the release, Amazon also unveiled a software developer kit (SDK) that allows third parties to offer virtual dash buttons on their screened devices. Available to Prime members, the buttons allow shoppers to quickly find and reorder supplies from a selection of millions of eligible products.Amazon released the virtual Dash buttons to its mobile application and website in January 2017, and the company later introduced them to Echo Show in October of the same year. Now, they are available on third-party devices.
