Amazon introduces the Dash, a wand device to aid AmazonFresh shopping

Over the weekend, Amazon announced the Dash, a small device that makes it quick and easy for users to add groceries and household items to their AmazonFresh shopping list.

The Dash is a black-and-white, wand-shaped gadget that adds to a customer’s shopping list when he or she uses it to scan an item’s barcode or holds down a microphone button and says a product’s name. The Dash connects to users’ Wi-Fi networks so that it can add items to customers’ lists.

“Conveniently refill and restock your home’s everyday essentials, and have fun doing it,” an Amazon Web page reads.

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The Dash can be used to shop for more than 500,000 items. Users must log on to the Amazon website when they are ready to make their purchases. Most orders are delivered by the next day.

The wand is free, but most Amazon customers won’t be able to use it right away. The new device works with AmazonFresh, the company’s same-day delivery service that currently only operates in Southern California, San Francisco and Seattle. Customers must also receive an invitation before they can sign up for a free Dash.

This is the second device announced by Amazon this month. Last week, the Seattle-based retail company unveiled the Amazon Fire TV, a video-streaming set-top box.

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