Amazon needs no introduction these days. Most people if they haven’t used it are at least familiar with it, with more and more consumers (like myself) now having a Prime account that let’s customers access thousands of songs, movies and box sets as well as order from millions of different items with the option of free next day delivery. But the e-commerce titan isn’t done making or lives easier – Amazon has announced today what companies are partnered in the “Dash Replenishment Service”, Siemens, Bosch and Samsung being among some of the biggest that will be available in three countries: Austria, Germany as well as here in the UK.
So, the devices themselves that are behind the Dash Replenishment Service are simply glossy, branded buttons with wireless connectivity to the nearest device (probably your phone) that can access your Amazon account. The idea is that you can order fresh batch of supplies for your dishwasher, printer, toilet cabinet etc. all at the touch of a button, with the item(s) to arrive 24 hours later.
The scheme is being critised by a lot of people as being “lazy” and I can’t imagine many like the idea of being told how to shop by a foreign retailer, although Amazon have responded by outlining their aims to take the tedium and hassle out of shopping for goods that don’t bring any “retail therapy” upon purchase.
The company also state that orders through Dash Buttons has tripled in the last few months, whilst disclosing no EXACT figure. Although, whilst I’m sue a few of us can see the aim and how efficient this could make household shopping, I also think we are a nation of bargain hunters and if we can go to a shop and get a two-for-one deal on a similar product, we’d rather spend that extra hour doing that instead of pushing a few buttons without leaving the house and paying for pricier brands.