Amazon Dash - just when you thought online shopping can’t get easier
It’s been a while since my last blogpost, so today I am going to write a quick review on my experience with Amazon Dash.
The funny thing is, when the Amazon Dash ad came out this year, everyone thought it was just an April fool’s joke. However, the first version of Amazon Dash actually came out in 2014, and here’s what the original one looked like (Photo by WebProNews). The original Dash was actually more like a combination of Echo and Dash, and it was exclusively for Amazon Fresh. Personally I do think it is better to break it down into two different products in terms of user experience for online ordering/shopping, because it eliminates the unnecessary communication between Echo and the users (well, sometimes Echo just really doesn’t get what you’re trying to say).
So the test drive starts
I decided to get the Tide dash button because I recently moved into a new apartment and I don’t have detergent. Currently they are still doing the promotion for Amazon Dash — Buy a dash button for $4.99, you will get $4.99 off your first purchase, so essentially it’s free.
In the box — A Tide dash button and a simple welcome guide. The steps are fairly straightforward and easy to understand.
When I first set up my dash button, I had to download the Amazon Shopping mobile app (or you could do it in a mobile browser), log into my Amazon account and go to Set up a new device in Dash Devices. Then the app took me to the Get Started page and started the setup process.
Basically, the app gave me a step by step set up guide with images (as shown above), and the setup process was similar to setting up your Chromecast. It took about 30 secs until the light flashed blue, but when I tried to connect the button to my phone, it didn’t work, so I had to try another way.
After I failed to connect the button to my phone, the app took me to another page and indicated I needed to connect my wifi to the Amazon ConfigureMe network. After connecting to the network, I had to repeat the same connecting process for my phone, and finally, it worked!
Voila! I finally got to the product page so that I could select the item that I wanted to buy.
However, I ran into another problem as I was trying to decide which detergent I wanted to get. I accidentally checked 2 items, and when I was trying to uncheck it, it wouldn’t let me. I went back and forth between the product page and the final setup page, and I couldn’t find a way to remove a product from the checkout page either. Therefore, I had to exit the setup process and start over.
After re-connecting the button to my phone for the third time, I was finally able to select the item I wanted. As you can see above, it gave me 2 warnings — no default payment or default shipping speed. I thought I could update those 2 items in the setup process, but it actually didn’t work, so I went back to Dash Devices in my Amazon account and selected Manage devices this time. Finally, I was able to update my payment method and actually use the device. Since I am a prime member, I don’t need to set up default shipping speed, but the warning still won’t go away, which kinda bugs me (well, I have some kind of OCD). Then I pressed this magical button, and voila, the light turned green (it all happened too fast, so I couldn’t capture that magical moment), and a message popped up telling me that I finally placed my first order with the dash button!
The whole process took about 15–20 minutes because I had to re-connect/re-set up a few times, and here are a few thoughts on my experience overall —
The Setup Process
The instructions were easy to understand, and they make sure to include the main steps in both the Welcome Guide (that came with the box) and in the mobile app.
However, when I was not able to un-select an item, I was a bit frustrated. I didn’t like the fact that I couldn’t just go back to the last step (connect the dash button to my phone), or there was no option similar to uncheck all items on the product page.
The second thing I had trouble with was updating my payment method and shipping speed. I was a bit confused when I realized I couldn’t update them during the set up process (I kinda assumed I should be able to), and when I was updating my payment method in my account (after finishing the setup process), I was only able to select the method instead of editing it as well. So when I placed my order, it automatically applied my gift card credits, even though I was not planning on using it on this order.
Although it was just an one time setup process, I guess I just had a little bit higher expectation.
The Product Selection
At the moment, Amazon does not provide all the available products for each of its own dash button. For Tide, I think I was looking at about a list of 10 items, so I didn’t really have many options.
For brands such as Clorox and Cottonelle, they only have 4 items available for their dash button. I think it makes sense for Amazon to limit the size of the product selection at the moment, but I wonder how long it will take for them to add on more products for each button so that customers can have more options to buy from.
Just to give you an idea on how many Clorox products are available on Amazon (I selected Prime only), here’s a snapshot. This is only the tip of the iceberg, because there are about 10 pages!
The Price Point
The price point for these dash button products is still relatively high, which is understandable, for now. However, since I can get something similar for a much lower price at Walmart or Target (especially they also provide free shipping), I don’t expect I will be using my dash button very soon again. In fact, my boyfriend also purchased a dash button back in August (just for the promotion really), but he hasn’t placed an order because all the available items (for his button) are too expensive.
Final thoughts
It’s alway interesting to see Amazon release new products and try to sneak into every part of our lives. For me, Amazon has not been just a retail company for a very long time. Instead, it is an Internet giant that wants to change the way we live in the future.
I think if Amazon can attract enough (dash button) users in this stage and further improve the price point as well as the product selection, this can really revolutionize how people do online shopping. And most importantly, now I can do laundry this weekend :)
