This isn't a product for consumers, this is a product for CPG companies. As a result, I imagine a lot of the cost here will be covered by the companies making the products. If Amazon covers the logistics of everything (making the buttons, managing the APIs, stocking and delivering the products, managing payments) then P&G just pays to give you a "Tide" button.

CPGs will pay a LOT for this because it makes their brands "stickier". I can't tell you what brand of paper towels I normally buy, but if I always bought them through my "Bounty" button, I would always buy Bounty paper towels instead of whatever is on sale at the store.

I doubt this button connects to Wi-Fi directly - that's too much hassle (and too power-hungry). I wonder if Amazon has some sort of Zigbee-like controller embedded in the Amazon Echo that is set up to manage low-power devices like this.