Amazon Moves Deeper Into Auto Parts

Amazon is adding a new collection of smart products — that can place orders when supplies run low — to its Dash replenishment program, the company announced in a press release.

The new additions include household brands, such as HP, Kenmore, 3M’s Filtrete, Epson and Blustream. Amazon will now also offer devices from illy and Petcube.

With the program, smart devices can measure product consumption through a variety of inputs, including infrared, pressure flow, weight and other sensor arrays. Before supplies run out, the measurement triggers an automatic reorder from Amazon.

For example, a Dash replenishment-enabled washing machine can automatically reorder detergent, or a smart printer can automatically reorder ink.

In the release, Amazon also unveiled a software developer kit (SDK) that allows third parties to offer virtual dash buttons on their screened devices. Available to Prime members, the buttons allow shoppers to quickly find and reorder supplies from a selection of millions of eligible products.

Amazon released the virtual Dash buttons to its mobile application and website in January 2017, and the company later introduced them to Echo Show in October of the same year. Now, they are available on third-party devices.

The announcement of the replenishment program expansion and SDK comes a little more than a year after Amazon released 60 new Dash buttons to the market, bringing the total number to more than 200 at the time.

And, in 2017, Amazon released the Dash Wand, a device that allows users to scan grocery barcodes, convert measurements and order household goods from Amazon via voice command. Wi-Fi-enabled and magnetic, the company designed the Dash Wand for a consumer’s fridge in an effort to bring some of the Echo speaker’s functionality to the kitchen.

As it was last year, the device is still priced at $20, but Prime members who purchase it will receive $20 in their Amazon accounts.