Amazon launches a product so gimmicky we thought it was an April Fools’ joke

Around April 1, it’s hard to know what’s a joke and what isn’t.

Today Amazon announced the launch of a physical button that will let consumers reorder products they run out of in real time. Called Dash Button, it can be programmed to automatically place an order for individual items like paper towels, coffee cartridges, or laundry detergent, among many other items.

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For the moment the button is only available to Amazon Prime members via invitation.

Dash Button is a sister product to the original Dash, a wand that lets you scan the barcode of an item in your home and place orders through voice commands.

This is yet another way that Amazon is getting people to constantly reorder goods through its service. The company has been pushing one-click ordering through its site for a while, allowing customers to make purchases without the fuss that comes with online shopping carts.

However, Dash Button is most closely related to Amazon’s replenishment system — the Everything Store’s big bid for the connected home. The company is currently working with a range of home appliance providers to embed an Amazon order button into actual products. The effect would be a seamless way to shop from home without the bulky aesthetic of a giant plastic buy-button that you physically stick to appliances around your house.

In the meantime, Amazon wants to get consumers to build the right behaviors, so that when connected products with Amazon replenish buttons do roll out, they’ll already be trained to hit a button when they’re low on household products. What better way to train someone than with a giant branded button?

Though gimmicky and only a stepping-stone to a more integrated connected home play down the line, Dash Button is definitely something we’d try out.