Domino’s Pizza record strong online orders

Domino’s Pizza UK and Ireland recorded a 34.7% increase in pre-tax profits after one-off items to £5.5m for the 26 weeks to 3 July, helped by a 64% increase in online sales, with orders worth £6.5m. Online sales now make up 10.6% of the company’s business.

Sales were also helped by record store openings of almost one a week during the period.

The group’s website contributed most to e-commerce sales, with other orders from TV links on Sky and NTL. Online orders were 25-30% higher in value than those made by phone. Leo Ginsberg, Domino’s finance director attributed this to customers having more time to browse the menu online.

E-commerce developments also helped to increase in-store efficiency. A system whereby phone orders are taken centrally and sent to the nearest delivery store online enabled staff to focus on making and delivering meals rather than answering the phone.

Like-for-like sales increased by 8.4%, compared with 4.9% in the same period last year. The company attributed this to the successful launch of its new cheese melt pizza.

The company aims to open a total of between 800 and 1,000 Domino’s Pizza stores in the UK and Ireland.