Fast-food chain Domino’s Pizza is rolling out its full menu on Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated assistant, after becoming the first pizza chain to trial the technology.
Consumers will now be able to order Domino’s menu items on Amazon Alexa, with no need for a saved account known as a ‘pizza profile’. Consumers simply have to use the phrase ‘Alexa, open Domino’s’. The app – referred to by Amazon as an ‘Alexa skill’ – then prompts the user to customise their pizza and submit their order.
And customers who ask for a deal can receive 20% off every menu-priced item in their order.
Domino’s senior vice-president and chief digital officer Dennis Maloney said: “We’re excited to give our customers a more advanced and easy-to-use ordering process through Amazon Alexa. Now it’s as simple as asking Alexa to order a pizza from Domino’s and from there, customising it to one of our millions of possible combinations – no Pizza Profile needed!”
The new capability is part of Domino’s AnyWare suite of ordering technologies, which also includes smart watches, smart TVs, text, Twitter, and Facebook Messenger.
In April 2016, it launched a ‘zero-click app’ that allows consumers to automatically order a saved pizza preference by loading up the application and waiting for the ten-second timer to expire. Then in December, it added the option for consumers to order through Google Home – the technology giant’s equivalent to Alexa – by using the phrase ‘OK Google, talk to Domino’s’.
Domino’s is at the forefront of innovation in digital ordering, which – in the face of rising competition from the likes of Deliveroo and GrubHub, and with the popularity of meal kit services – could be the key to maintaining growth in the fiercely competitive fast-food market.
McDonald’s and Burger King are already competing to bring consumers mobile payment, after separately trialling platforms to allow customers to order with a smartphone.
Burger King’s smartphone app – tested in the Miami area ahead of a potential rollout to 7,000 stores in the US – allows consumers to choose menu items on their phone, and add credit to a ‘reloadable virtual card’ that will give them the option to pay for their meal straight from their device.
McDonald’s, meanwhile, has been expanding its pre-existing smartphone app to allow consumers to order and pay for food. The system was tested in western parts of the US in recent months and McDonald’s plans to expand the service worldwide in the coming years.
It will join McDelivery, the recently expanded food delivery partnership between McDonald’s and UberEats.
Last week, Domino’s announced strong second-quarter sales of $65.7 million – up 33.5% – thanks to improved same-store sales both in the US and overseas. For the first half of the year, the company made $128.2 million – 35% higher than the first two quarters of 2016.
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