Smartphone Apps & Download 2014: Domino's Pizza Adds Siri-Like Ordering Assistant to New App
Domino's is adding a fun addition to its mobile app Monday. The pizza chain will feature a voice feature on its mobile app, allowing customers to interact with "Dom", a computer-generated voice, when ordering pizza on the app.
The pizza chain is trying to take business away from rivals Pizza Hut and Papa John's as well as nearby small restaurants by creating more convenient ways for customers to order pizza.
Domino's, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says the app, which will be updated for iPhones and Android devices, will deliver a "human-like, conversational" experience. The company does expect some kinks and problems at first, but hopes to fix them as they arise.
"It is not perfect," Domino's CEO Patrick Doyle said in an interview. "This is the sort of thing, like any other really new technology launch, you're going to learn, you're going to get better."
The app is pretty simple -- for now, at least. Customers will be able to press a button to order by voice. "Dom" will then take over, asking customers what they want on their pizza and asking if they'd like any side items or beverages. Once payment is required, the customer will have to type in their credit card, instead of verbally reciting it, for security reasons.
Forty percent of Domino's U.S. sales are from mobile and online ordering and customers seem to prefer that method as opposed to calling or going into the restaurants for pickup. Doyle noted that customers who order online and through mobile devices tend to order more and order more frequently because they like the convenience. He added that smaller pizza places and independent shops don't have the money or technology to implement these types of systems.
"It is clearly an area where we'll be able to leverage our scale," he said.
Domino's is crediting its digital ordering systems for helping its recent boost in sales. At established locations last year, sales rose 5.4 percent.
Doyle says that the pizza industry is largely dominated by the big four -- Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's and Little Caesars. They own over 40 percent of the market collectively.
These big companies have the advantage of national advertising and the ability to offer big discounts according to Darren Tristano, an analyst with industry tracker Technomic. Tristano says for now these big companies have the digital advantage with these apps and technologies, but he predicts they will become more affordable and even the small pizza places will be able to add similar technologies.
Domino's online ordering experience is also quite unique. When a customer places an online order on Domino's website, they'll be shown a cartoon of the pizza being created and they are able to track it step-by-step.
Pizza Hut was the first pizza company to introduce online ordering, back in 1994.
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