Kwik Joins Amazon in the Push-Button Ordering Fray

The market for one-touch home supply-ordering services like Amazon Dash is heating up, and forecasters say it’s not just homes, but offices and organizations that could fuel growth, from a surge in “smart” buildings wired with devices to order items with the push of a button.

Tel Aviv, Israel-based Kwik is the latest to join the fray, introducing a push-button ordering system for in-home delivery of brands including Domino’s, Budweiser and Huggies. Kwik this week landed a $3 million investment to expand its service to the U.S. after conducting a pilot in Israel. Norwest Venture Partners led the investment round for Kwik.

But households aren’t the only market for these services, according to experts. A new study by Accenture Interactive sees big growth potential for the location-based delivery services for procurement officers who routinely order supplies for organizations.

According to the study, 68% of buyers for businesses purchase goods online and many are millennials who are primed to use on-demand ordering buttons, said Bob Barr, global B2B commerce lead at Accenture. This trend could fuel demand for push-button ordering services across a much bigger market than just homes, Barr suggested.

Kwik’s platform enables participating brands to choose their own payments and delivery partners, and the startup earns profits by taking a small cut.

Amazon Dash, introduced last year, this year tripled the number of brands available for consumers to order by pushing a button installed in their home.

Investment in smart-home technology—including devices to drive in-home purchases of services and products for home and office delivery—is expected to grow by more than 170% over the next four years, to $42.9 billion from $15.6 billion, according to a new report from Wirecard and Statista.

A major factor in development of these services will be customized subscription models that anticipate and tailor preferences according to households’ changing needs, the report suggests. “Mass customization will lead to smart subscription models with individual, flexible and automated billing processes,” according to the report.

Diapers, dog food and milk will be as easy to order as entertainment and media subscriptions, and the winners will be those who provide the most convenient, streamlined methods, analysts predict.

Dash and Kwik's buy buttons are not the only model for web-enabled in-home delivery and payments. MasterCard earlier this year entered a partnership to provide payments for Samsung's new web connected refrigerator. That partnership has since attracted ShopRite and online grocer Fresh Direct, which is facing increased competition from Amazon for grocery home delivery.

The Samsung and MasterCard partnership could spark an expansion to other parts of the home, as the refrigerator networks with web-connected devices, making MasterCard a primary payments enabler for home-based digital payments, according to an earlier interview with Aite Senior Analyst Thad Peterson.