Thanks to an increase in the number of consumers in possession of smartphones or tablet computers, the retail industry is seeing a huge rise in online orders.
This has proved to be good news for takeaway chain Domino’s Pizza which, thanks to strong investment in its online platform, has seen the number of consumers placing orders over the summer skyrocket.
During the three months to the 28th of September, total sales at Domino’s Pizza rose by almost 18 per cent to £165.7 million, a huge increase from the £140.9 million taken during the third quarter of 2013. Like for like sales, meanwhile, rose by 12.9 per cent, much higher than the 4 per cent increase recorded during the same period last year.
Although mobile technology certainly played a large part in this boom, Domino’s Pizza’s strategy of rapid growth continues to expand the chain’s customer base. During the quarter, a total of 13 new outlets were opened, with plans in place to open a further dozen or so stores in the coming weeks.
This will see Domino’s Pizza’s store openings for 2014 to reach between 40 and 50 – a very impressive total considering that consumers still remain wary of spending too much on luxuries. It will also bring the number of Domino’s Pizza outlets in the UK to 900 plus, putting the chain well on its way to having 1,000 UK premises by the end of 2016 if the current pace of openings is maintained.
Chief executive of Domino’s Pizza Group, David Wild, believes the combination of opening new regional stores and simplifying the online ordering system has proven immensely profitable for the pizza chain.
He says; “You make it easier for customers to order pizza, the more pizza they will order.
“We are building on our success online with the roll out of our new website and a series of enhancements to continue to make it easy for our customers to order Domino’s.”
Customers of Domino’s Pizza, it seems, have embraced the online method of ordering at a pace much faster than throughout the retail industry as a whole. 71 per cent of delivered sales, for example, were placed online in the last quarter, compared with only 62 per cent during the third quarter last year.
Furthermore, it appears that Domino’s Pizza’s primary target market, young people and families, are now choosing to embrace smartphone technology thanks to the range of apps available. Of the 71 per cent of online orders, half were placed using a mobile device, increasing strongly from the 34 per cent recorded in 2013.
At present, Domino’s Pizza controls over a quarter of pizza market share, with this figure growing strongly year on year. Yet with competitors such as Pizza Hut beginning to take note of the benefits of the online platform ordering system, the question is how long the pizza powerhouse will be able to stay ahead of the game.
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