LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Michelle Kratschmer's family was craving the
usual -- a large pepperoni pizza and a small pie with black olives and cheese --
but how she entered the phone order was entirely new.
The Godfrey, Ill., woman ordered dinner by sending a text message to her
local Papa John's restaurant. A half-hour later, the pizzas were delivered to
her home.
"I got exactly what I ordered, so that was a good thing," Kratschmer said.
"You send it off and you're not sure if they've gotten it on that end, because
you don't talk to them."
Louisville-based Papa John's International Inc. this week rolled out its
text message ordering option at its 2,700 U.S. restaurants. It's a progression
from the pizza maker's online ordering, which began in 2001 and now accounts for
nearly 20 percent of its U.S. sales.
Domino's Pizza Inc. has taken it another step, recently starting a system
that lets customers place orders from Web-enabled mobile devices. The new
ordering system, launched about 2 1/2 months ago, is now available at about
3,000 Domino's locations and will spread to all of the chain's approximately
5,100 U.S. restaurants next year, said Rob Weisberg, a marketing vice president
for the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company.
Bear Stearns restaurant analyst Joe Buckley said the new ordering methods
could help the chains win brand loyalty among people who will be eating pizza
for decades to come.
"The high-technology ways of reaching customers probably appeal to younger
people, who live with their text messaging and their BlackBerry," he said.
Nigel Travis, Papa John's president and chief executive officer, envisions
hungry customers text messaging from malls or theaters so when they get home
their pizza orders will be on the way.
"Our vision is that you can order a Papa John's pizza anytime of day or
night -- wherever you are," he said.
First, Papa John's customers register online to create accounts. They can
save up to four favorite orders, along with a delivery address and payment
preference. Customers can punch in "FAV1," "FAV2," "FAV3," or "FAV4," to text
message orders. Papa John's sends a reply with the order, and the customer can
confirm or change it.
At the stores, the transition is seamless since text orders pop up the same
as online orders, said Jim Ensign, vice president of marketing communications at
Papa John's.
The text-messaging option is another example of Papa John's looking for
innovations to offset an advertising budget that's smaller than at larger rivals
Pizza Hut and Domino's.
Pizza Hut, a unit of Louisville-based Yum Brands Inc., had an 18 percent
share of the $28.5 billion U.S. pizza market last year, while Domino's had 11
percent and Papa John's had 6.9 percent, according to restaurant-industry
consultant Technomic.
Like online customers, people ordering with Papa John's via texting are
asked if they want to get regular messages touting coupons or other special
offers, and the company expects a big number to do so. Still, Ensign promises
that Papa John's will be "very careful and not deluge our customers with
promotional messages."
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