Following the recent launch of Amazon Dash in the UK there has been much debate over the merits and pitfalls of the press-to-order approach to safe shopping online that this device provides. Now evidence presented by a number of sources, including the Wall Street Journal and HotUKDeals, suggests that people could actually be paying more for products which are supported by the service.

Dash buttons are uniquely linked to a number of major brands, allowing customers to order more washing powder, shaving gel and other consumable products with a single press.

The companies in question actually pay Amazon a fee to have a featured Dash button of their own, while also shelling out for every sale that is made via this medium, meaning that items cost up to 15 per cent more to account for this, the WSJ reveals.

Meanwhile in the UK, the members of the social shopping site have reported that the Dash approach to safe shopping online means that people can order items without knowing the precise price they are going to pay. And since Amazon regularly adjusts its prices across a wide range of products, it is not always the cheapest place to order specific items at a given time.

Industry expert, Danny Munday, told Internet Retailing that this can leave customers with the option of accepting that the Dash button purchase may be more expensive than comparing prices online. The alternative is to check Amazon’s current prices before pressing the button, which defeats the purpose of the device’s convenient design.

The rise of online grocery orders has encouraged Amazon to enter this market in the UK, putting pressure on supermarkets in the process. But the teething troubles and lack of transparency with Dash might prove problematic when consumers wise up to these issues.