Domino's serves up text-based pizza ordering

Domino's Pizza is toasting the success of its newly-launched text-based pizza ordering service that lets users in the UK and Ireland place delivery orders using their mobile phones.

Since the innovation was trialed in July, more than 2,000 users have signed up to make use of the new service, which directs the order to the nearest one of Domino's 470 stores in the same way online ordering works.

Users just need to register their details online and set up their favourite menu choices and then they can make use of text-based ordering by simply keying in their chosen menu's keyword and sending it to 61212, which is charged at standard text rates.

"This is the UK's first ever SMS based pizza delivery service and is yet another example of Domino's providing an industry-first, innovative sales channel that appeals to our customers and will ensure we remain at the forefront of multi-channel retailing," said Chris Moore, deputy chief executive at Domino's Pizza.

"The increasing penetration of broadband in the UK and shift to using mobile phones for so much more than making calls has helped shape our strategy to use mobile technology in this way. And ordering via this service will be even easier than picking up the phone. The SMS development would not have been possible without the success of our online offer which now accounts for over 14 per cent of our delivered pizza sales and is our fastest growing route to market," he said.

The SMS software used for the new service was developed and implemented by Altaine, who integrated it with Domino's existing order management service to ensure that order reach the most relevant store in a timely manner.

The next phase of the project is likely to see people being able to store pizza menus directly on their phones rather than having to go via the online route, according to Leon Travers, sales director at Altaine.

"I know I always want a pizza when I've had been. This service is great as it means you can text your order on your way home and [the pizza] is there when you get home," he said.

"Domino's was the first company to go live with text ordering in the food industry. The idea originated in New Zealand with work we were doing with Subway. People could create their sandwich and then text in their order so they jumped the queues at lunchtime. We're now about to trial this with Subway in London," he said.

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