Amazon is bringing its Amazon Dash Buttons to parts of Europe, with the devices now available in the UK, Germany, and Austria. Designed to make re-ordering products a lot simpler, Dash Buttons have been available in the US since March 2015, but Amazon is now expanding the idea to more countries and brands.

Amazon Dash Buttons are thumb-sized branded buttons you place around your home. You connect them to your Wi-Fi network and use the Amazon app to specify exactly what item you would like to order with each press of the button. Out of toilet paper or washing powder? A click of the button can have more of your required item on its way, with an alert sent to your smartphone confirming the order has been placed. This notification also includes the cost, expected delivery date and the ability to cancel if the button was pressed in error or as a prank.

Speaking of pranks, Amazon originally announced its Dash Buttons on March 31, 2015, leading some to assume it was an April Fools' Day joke. But it wasn't, and the idea appears to have gained some traction.

While Amazon does not reveal sales data for any of its products, the company does say that in the last two months Dash Button orders have increased by three times and orders via Dash Button take place at a rate of over twice a minute. In addition to this, "the number of Dash Button brands available in the US has also expanded four times faster in 2016 compared with 2015.". In other words, Amazon Dash Buttons seem to be gaining interest from both brands and buyers, hence the leap into other territories.

Each Amazon Dash Button will cost €4.99 (US$5.52) in mainland Europe, and £4.99 (US$6.45) in the UK. However, the cost of each Amazon Dash Button gets taken off the first order, so once you have used your shiny new button it's essentially free. More than 40 brands are on board for the European launch, including Andrex, Ariel, Dettol, Durex, Gillette, Kleenex, Olay, Sheba, and Vanish, while more than 150 brands are already involved in the scheme in the US.

The promotional video below offers an idea of how the Dash Buttons might be useful around the home.

Source: Amazon, New Atlas