NEW YORK — Amazon has updated its barcode-scanning Dash shopping wand so you can now buy anything with it, not just groceries.
With the new Amazon Dash, you scan a product’s barcode or say its name to add it to your Amazon shopping cart. You still need to go to Amazon’s website or app to complete the order. The wand is meant as a quick way to reorder a product or order an item that’s on the top of your mind while at home. Or if you’re out shopping, you can add something to your Amazon shopping cart to ship later.
Amazon’s app already has a barcode-scanning feature called Flow. Carrying the Dash saves the trouble of opening the app, scanning the item with the phone’s camera and then adding the item to the shopping cart.
The Dash is the latest hardware device Amazon is selling to try to rope shoppers in. Amazon’s $190 Echo smart speaker (and its smaller siblings, the $50 Dot and $100 Tap) performs a variety of tasks including ordering products. The company also has one-click Dash reordering buttons that can stick to any surface and can be used to instantly reorder household products like detergent or toilet paper. Unlike the wand, the buttons are tied to specific products.
The Amazon Dash is available for $50 for members of Amazon’s $99-a-year Prime loyalty program.
Separately, Amazon said it is changing the pricing for its grocery delivery service, which has gone through several iterations and is now called AmazonFresh. Instead of $299 a year, it will cost $15 per month as an add-on for Prime members. That works out to about $280 a year with the Prime membership. AmazonFresh members can get the Amazon Dash for $20, with a $20 credit included.
