Amazon's Dash Button: It's Now Easier to Spend Money

The Wall Street Journal admits it held off on writing about the new Amazon Dash Button today because it seemed like an April Fool's joke. Turns out, it's the real deal. Amazon wants people to place these branded buttons in conspicuous places—one for detergent on the washing machine, for example, or one for Gatorade on the fridge—and then press them when it's time to reorder. In two days (assuming you've got WiFi) your package arrives. So while it may sound like a prank, the Dash Button "is actually part of a long-standing Amazon initiative to make it stupid simple for you to spend money more seamlessly," writes Adam Clark Estes at Gizmodo.

The way it works for now is that Amazon will ask some Prime subscribers to participate, and they will pick from a list of buttons. Companies involved include Gillette, Cottonelle, Gatorade, Kraft, Olay, and Tide, but the list will keep growing. If a curious kid happens upon the button, safeguards will prevent multiple orders. And if it sounds a little Jetsons-like, just wait for the next phase, reports Wired. Under the Dash Replenishment Service, now in beta, products will re-order themselves when they're running out. "It’s an amazing, futuristic, surprisingly logical idea," writes David Pierce. "It’s also totally terrifying." (More Amazon stories.)