After four years, Amazon is un-buttoning its Dash program in favor of virtual reordering, subscriptions and voice shopping options, according to CNET. The program’s popularity has been overtaken by tools such as Subscribe & Save, according to an Amazon spokesperson.
However, Amazon noted that it doesn’t consider the branded Dash buttons a failure, since they already have succeeded in their mission of creating regular Amazon shoppers. The program lives on through virtual Dash buttons and the Dash Replenishment Services toolkit, which integrates ordering into household appliances.
Advertisement
“This is a natural evolution of the program,” said the Amazon spokesman in an interview with CNET. “We’ve always said we envision a future where you don’t need to press a physical button in your home to reorder products.”
The Dash button was launched alongside the Amazon Echo, with both tools aimed at reducing friction and increasing loyalty among shoppers. Amazon expanded the number of products with Dash buttons to 226 later in 2015, including more items from the Amazon Basics line.
Virtual Dash buttons followed in 2017, letting shoppers add one-click buy buttons to their home pages. Amazon also has added a number of monthly subscription services, including a mystery box from Loot Crate, beauty boxes from Julep and Allure, a science-based toy box called STEM Club and a curated meat box from Carnivore Club.
Amazon maintains that the change to the Dash program isn’t due to a recent German court ruling, which said that the physical buttons violated consumer rights by not making the price of orders apparent. Amazon, which sells $29 billion worth of goods in Germany annually, is planning to appeal the decision.
