Amazon customers may never run out of Diet Coke, snacks, cat food, hand sanitizing wipes and a bevy of products for personal care, pets and more, thanks to a new bunch of Dash buttons that automatically place an order when they're pressed.
If you're not already using Amazon's often cheaper Subscribe and Save option for these 60 new products, the online retailer is now selling Dash buttons for on-demand orders for brands like Pop Tarts, Cheez-its, Krave beef jerky, Meow Mix and PoopBags, adding to the buttons it already has for staples like Tide detergent, Bounty paper towels and Charmin toilet paper.
And you'll be able to get a Dash button virtually free, by paying $4.99 up front for the button, then getting a credit for that amount the first time you press the button. In total, Amazon has Dash buttons for 107 different brands.
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“Customers never want to reach for a new trash bag and find out the box is empty – with Dash Button, we’re helping ensure our customers never go through that dreaded moment,” said Brandi Pitts, the head of e-commerce at Hefty trash bag maker Reynolds Consumer Products, in an Amazon press release. More Hefty bags are being sold using Dash buttons than on the actual Amazon website, Pitts says.
As with any Amazon order, if you accidentally press the button, you'll be able to go into your account online and cancel the order, and if the button is pressed several times accidentally, only one order will be placed. If you actually receive a shipment from the order that has been placed accidentally, you can return it within 30 days of receipt.
If you don't already have a Dash button, you'll want to know that it isn't quite as simple out of the box as you might think. To use the Dash button, there's an initial setup process. You'll need either an Android device running Android 4.1 or higher or an iOS device running iOS 8.3 or higher, with the Amazon Shopping app installed; you'll also need to turn on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
You'll also have to enable Amazon 1-Click settings, designating a default address and credit card. And if for some reason the transaction is declined using the credit card you designate in your 1-Click settings, the amount will may be charged to another credit card you have on file.
Dash button use has grown five-fold this past year, Amazon says. But it's not only convenience to Amazon shoppers, it could mean more customers will be paying up for an Amazon Prime membership.
