Another land grab in ‘Now Economy’ and the world of ‘convenience tech’, on-demand tech designed to save you hassle, time and effort. This week Amazon is launching two ‘Uber for X’ on-demand services.
Amazon Home Services: Handpicked Pros, Upfront Prices, Happiness Guarantee
The first is Amazon Home Services, an Uber for cleaners, electricians, plumbers and all your home needs – 700 services from at home singing or yoga lessons, to car and iPhone repairs – even goat grazing (!) to clean up lawns.
Like Uber, Amazon Home Services works as a broker for independent service providers (background-checked, insured and licensed) that you book and pay through Amazon, with Amazon taking a cut (20%). Like Uber, AHS is a touch-screen-get-service example of ‘convenience tech’ that delivers services on-demand and that is designed to save you time, effort and hassle (as opposed to money). Again like Uber, there’s the upfront pricing which is based on availability, but also verified reviews. Usefully, AHS comes with a ‘happiness guarantee’ that refunds you if you’re not happy with the work. Amazon’s Uber for Home Services is initially available in 40 US states.
Amazon Dash Button: Place it. Press it. Get it.
Amazon’s second Uber-style service launched this week is the Amazon Dash Button. The Dash Button is another example of on-demand convenience tech that takes the form of simple wifi connected button from the world of the Internet of Things that you can stick on your fridge, washer, coffee machine or whatever – and configure it so that when you touch it, Amazon delivers a particular product to you within an hour (through Amazon Prime Now) or within a day (Amazon Prime). From detergent, to groceries, and other home care products, the Dash Button, like Uber, is designed to save you time, effort and hassle in re-ordering products (and is reminiscent of Evian’s IoT smartdrop). And like Uber, it’s a tap-to-get-service on-demand offer. Where it differs from Uber of course is that the Dash Button Service is not a broker for independent providers. But from a consumer perspective, it fits the Uber model of a convenient on-demand service. The dash button is initially launched in US cities exclusively for Prime Members
With Amazon moving into convenience tech with the ‘Uber for X’ services for products and services, this is more evidence that the new C word on digital is convenience – and not content. It also marks a shift in the digital economy – from the New Economy to the on-demand Now Economy. Brands take note.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-jYn1kA9q0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMacTuHPWFI
