Domino's Continues Online Expansion

Monday, August 5, 2013 - 13:51 by Mike Price

Takeaway pizza chain Domino's has steadily improved its performance in the UK to the point that it now makes most of its money via safe shopping online, with both desktop and mobile sales helping to swell its profits in the first half of 2013. E-commerce and m-commerce sales were up by a combined 29.2 per cent over the last six months, bringing in an impressive  156.7 million for the company and making up a little over 63 per cent of its total sales.

Over twenty five percent of the orders placed via safe shopping online originated from portable devices rather than home computers, which is a 17.9 per cent increase year on year, according to Internet Retailing. Domino's chief exec, Lance Batchelor, said that the company was now well and truly considered as an online-oriented company and will continue to strive to digitise its business going forwards. It is looking to launch smartphone apps in regions outside the UK, including Germany and Switzerland, so that it can boost sales overseas.

Domino's has also been using video streaming site YouTube to help generate sales, with about five times the number of people clicking on ads relating to its products than rivals. Establishing its brand online has been an important part of making Domino's an e-commerce success over the past few years.

Batchelor said that the company was even preparing a major overhaul of its online sales portal in the second half of 2013, which should further improve the user experience. Sales across all platforms were up by 13.8 per cent and the company took a hit on its profitability in order to expand into new markets.

The majority of Domino's 825 stores are in the UK, but its multichannel approach to retail, which leans heavily on the web, is helping it to forge ahead elsewhere.