Domino's goes online with new ordering system

Domino's Pizza has taken a step into the digital age with the trial of a new online ordering system.

The project, initially being piloted by four of the company’s Brisbane stores, is expected to roll-out to the rest of the pizza purveyor's 406 Australian stores by 2007.

Currently, the system allows for online customisation and ordering, with plans for an order tracking system allowing online updates of a pizza’s progress.

According to Domino's CEO, Don Meij, the initiative was about increasing customer access, value and entertainment.

“The order process is easier in that you don’t have to talk to anyone or wait,” he said. “It is better value as we’ll be offering things like loyalty programs and it’s entertaining in that you can watch the progress of the order.”

While e-commerce sites were nothing new, Domino’s late entry into the game was not a sign the fast food industry was falling behind the times, Meij said.

“The business model is a lot different to most retailers,” he said. “Hamburgers, for example, aren’t a delivery business, so online ordering is not suitable for a lot of businesses in this field.”

But with direct competitor Pizza Hut having its own online ordering system for some time, Meij conceded there were other reasons for the systems’ timing.

“Part of why we haven’t rolled it out before is the expense,” he said. “Most other e-businesses are one-place, one-location, whereas we have to do multiple places to multiple locations. It’s difficult to get an order safely from the customer to their nearest store.”

Meij would not comment on the size of Domino's investment in the initiative but said he was confident in a steady growth in online sales.

“The UK has been doing this for a number of years and is now reporting double digit usage figures,” he said. “We have also done research and found that 65 per cent of our customer base now has broadband, which is encouraging.”

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