Running low on toilet paper, diapers, or trash bags? Amazon has a new way to help you order these household staples in a hurry.
The Web giant on Tuesday launched a new piece of hardware called the Dash Button, which offers a simple way to re-order the things you always use — like paper towels, laundry detergent, coffee, and water. The Dash Button is a small device that you can stick on the inside of a kitchen cabinet, on your laundry machine, or whatever is convenient.
You can set it up with the Amazon app on your smartphone to order what you want, and then simply press the button when you're running low. The button connects to your home Wi-Fi network, and a single press of the button automatically places your order. Once pressed, you'll get an order alert on your phone, so you can easily cancel if you made a mistake, changed your mind, or if your kid thought it was a toy and pressed it 100 times.
For peace of mind, the Dash button responds only to your first press until your order is delivered. Each button is tied to a specific product — things like Cottonelle toilet paper, Bounty paper towels, Colorox disinfecting wipes, Huggies diapers, Tide laundry detergent pods, and more. Other available items include Olay face moisturizer, Wellness dog food, Izze drinks, Glad trash bags, Kraft macaroni and cheese, SmartWater, Gerber infant formula, and Laurabars.
At this point the Dash Button is available on an invitation-only basis for Amazon Prime members. You can request an invitation on Amazon's website, and the actual buttons are free.
For more on the Amazon Dash button, check out the video below.
Last year, Amazon revealed a digital "magic wand," dubbed the Amazon Dash, with a built-in barcode scanner and microphone that let users quickly add items to an AmazonFresh shopping list.