Amazon has taken another step towards auto replenishment with the launch of the ‘Dash Smart Shelf’. The Wi-Fi-connected shelf senses the weight of items and determines when they are running low. It can then automatically place a re-order or send out a low-stock notification to the Amazon account holder.
Offered in three sizes, the shelf (see video below) has initially been designed for small businesses to put in their supply rooms to sense when items such pens, printer paper and coffee are running out.
To incentivise its use, Amazon will offer businesses using the Dash Smart Shelf discounts of up to 15% on certain items such Keurig coffee, Kind snack bars, Bic pens, 3M Post-it Notes and Scotch tape.
Amazon has begun testing the shelf with selected business customers in the US with full roll-out expected next year. No consumer plans have yet been announced.
Earlier this year, Amazon stopped selling its physical ‘Dash’ buttons that allowed customers to quickly order food, household cleaning products, and health & beauty items with a single press. Amazon said at the time that product subscriptions, automatic reordering, and voice-controlled speakers such as its own Echo devices, had since grown in popularity, making the physical buttons unnecessary. However, it still offers its Dash Replenishment Service directly on some devices, like printers, and digital Dash buttons in its shopping app and website.
NAM Implications:
- A step away from a scaled version in retailer warehouses for auto-reordering of ‘regular‘ stock items?
- Watch this space…
