Amazon, you read my mind!

Not to sound like a total Luddite or anything, but I am fairly new to the world of online grocery shopping. In the short time that I have been clicking, paying for, and receiving groceries straight to my kitchen however, my life has changed. It has drastically reduced the need to frantically race out to the supermarket every other night because I have forgotten to buy something. I feel organised and calm.

My system for ordering is simple. I keep a list during the week and jot down things I need to buy. I then add to this list when I see we are running out of something. Usually the list is pretty accurate, but it’s not 100% airtight. There are times when I think of an item we need, but just forget to write it down (there’s a lot distractions between me and that list on the fridge). “Oh well”, I think to myself in a defeatist slump, “that just means we wait another week” – either that or I slip in the usual quick frantic trip to the supermarket.

So, on a Tuesday night, I sit at my kitchen bench with a laptop, a glass of wine, a shopping list (if I can find it) and an open pantry door. From the comfort of my own home I order everything we need. Nothing could be simpler…. Or could it?

When I stop to think about the point in time that I realise we need to buy something, it is when I am actually using it. Right there in the act. For example, it’s when the last bottle of wine is grabbed from the top of the cupboard that I think… “ooh, must get more wine”. I realise we need washing powder when I am in the laundry putting on a load. The trigger that we need toothpaste is when I’m in the bathroom optimistically trying to squeeze out that last little bit from the bottom of the tube. The important need for more toilet paper happens when …. well you get the drift.

Intuitively, it is when I am using something that I am thinking about it.

Amazon gets this. “So what have they gone and done?” You ask? Well they’ve only gone and introduced ‘dash buttons’. Branded, wi-fi connected buttons that you place exactly where you use or store your grocery items. So when you need something, you push the button. It’s all set up with the size and brand you use. A confirmed order message is sent to your phone…. and it arrives at your house. Magic!!

The idea is not without some questions however. I wonder exactly how many of these little branded buttons I could stick around my home before it would start to resemble my childhood bedroom wall (picture a multitude of stickers randomly slapped on the walls; peeling over time).

But I do love how cleverly Amazon is continuing to get to know their customers. Not just what they need, but when they think about needing it. They are not segregating themselves to only being part of their customers’ shopping rituals, but actually being there for their customers when they need them; becoming part of their daily lives. This is in addition to how easily they are locking in total loyalty to their brands.

BrandHook’s 2012 study Consumers buy on autopilot; what does that mean for your brand? revealed that 46% of what we do everyday is the same, which means we buy the same products and use the same services for almost half of our day.  So Amazon is just making it easier to be there at the point of time that the brand enters our minds – and seizing this opportunity before something else enters our minds and distracts us.

For brands to cement themselves as part of this habitual cycle, the interaction between customer and brand must be an easy experience; seamlessly natural – intuitive.

Brands need to understand how to reduce the complexity of their brand experience and build a simple, responsive one instead. Doing this will strengthen their relationship with their customers and build an intuitive bond. Amazon’s ‘dash button’ aims right at the heart of this bond.

So the challenge for brands is not only to know what your customers are thinking about you, but also when they are thinking about you. Because then you can be there for them, first….at the push of a button.