Walmart has applied for a patent to compete with Amazon.com’s Wi-Fi-connected, one-button ordering device, Amazon Dash, according to data provider CB Insights.
The patent, filed in October, would be the first of Walmart’s (WMT) more than 800 patents and applications to focus on Internet of Things (IoT) and branches into shoppers’ homes, CB Insights said.
Walmart’s system would require less effort than Amazon‘s, a CB Insights blog post said.
“While Dash buttons still require users to press a physical button separate from the product, Wal-Mart aims to integrate IoT into the products themselves for automatic re-ordering with no user input at all,” the blog post said.