OPINION: The future of ordering at the click of a Dash button

I’m chairing the first-ever Better Wholesaling Summit in Birmingham tomorrow.

Focusing on technology, the Summit will see senior representatives from wholesalers including Booker, Matthew Clark, JJ Foodservice, Today’s and Landmark talk about how they’re using and investing in technology in their businesses.

While researching, I read about new innovations on Amazon’s Dash button. Only available in the States right now, the dash button is a physical piece of kit that consumers place at strategic points in their house to allow them, at the touch of a button, to order their favourite brands when they run out.

So you might, for example, have a Persil Dash button stuck to your washing machine, or a Gillette Dash button stuck on your bathroom cabinet. It isn’t a huge leap to imagine a Dash button on the fridge for your regular tipple, or in the spirits cabinet.

What your store offers can – and should – be an experience… A truly great range, and a great shopping experience, is something that shoppers will always appreciate

It’s a no brainer for big grocery brands that want continued access to households across core categories often bought on promotion.

But for small stores, it’s impending doom, right? Who’d want to browse a convenience store just in case they have it, when they could guarantee they get what they want?

The counter is simple – why would you want to wait for a delivery when you walk past the store on your way home every day? And what about those who actively want deals, or to change what they buy?

The big limitation is choice. What your store offers can – and should – be an experience. The biggest brands remain the biggest sellers, the products to put in the consumers eye line to flag the category. But a truly great range, and a great shopping experience, is something that shoppers will always appreciate.

The biggest trends in alcohol – craft beers, fruit wines, premium spirits, non-alcoholic drinks – rely on range and innovation. It’s crucial you remember this. It’s not only key now, but it’s the point of difference that might stop you being replaced by a series of buttons in a fridge.

As an aside – how about asking your wholesaler about these buttons? That might make ordering even easier than pieces of paper or scanning a barcode.

Your wholesaler needs to know that you’re thinking along these lines. The savvy ones will explore the technology, for the good of the whole sector.