Who Needs the Amazon Dash Button?

As shown above, the Amazon Dash Button is for people who want one-touch convenience in online or mobile reordering of all kinds of household products, including Bounty paper towels (note the branded button). Many items are produced by Procter & Gamble (including Bounty) but many are from other producers, as well, as featured on Amazon.com's retail site.

MediaPost asks: "Is the Amazon Dash Button Clever or Ugly?" Don't forget, it was introduced on the eve of April Fool's Day, a rollout that Adweek says was "genius." Amazon Dash received a lot more buzz as media outlets speculated about whether it was a hoax, how practical it was or was it little more than a gimmick.

Amazon's spokesperson explains the reasoning behind the button design: "You should think of it as a physical representation of the one-click button from the website." In other words, Amazon is making buying faster and easier than ever--although shoppers do have the ability to cancel the order if they choose (if, for instance, they reordered more times than they realized).

Actually, Amazon sees the button as part of an evolution toward the Internet of things, in which your appliances can sense low inventory of accessories (like laundry detergent) and reorder in time to never run out. Amazon is already working with several appliance makers to integrate the Dash Replenishment Service technology for auto-reordering.

Who needs the Amazon Dash Button? Well, who needed Amazon Prime, with its annual subscription price for speedier shipping and video viewing perks--now a success for Amazon? Retail pioneer Amazon is known for its insights into customer behavior, and Dash is yet another example.