Dominoes

Just over half of Domino’s Pizza takeaway orders are now made online, the company said today.

In the 13 weeks to March 25, ecommerce sales accounted for 50.6% of delivered sales at Domino’s Pizza UK and Ireland, up from 39.3% at the same time last year.

Online sales rose by 44.5% to £59.3m, from £41.3m last time of which 16.4% came through the company’s mobile platform. More than £1m in sales was taken through its mobile platforms in a single week during the period.

Social media followings also rose during the period. Its UK Facebook page has more than 520,000 fans, with another 13,700 in Ireland. Domino’s also has more than 22,000 Twitter followers across its UK and Ireland sites.

The update came as Domino’s reported a 9% total rise in sales, to £144.2m in the 13 weeks in its interim management statement. Sales were up from £132.3m at the same time last year. Both new store openings and like-for-like growth in sales, up by 3.5% during the period, drove the rise.

Lance Batchelor, chief executive officer, said: “We are pleased with the group’s performance in the first quarter and, although they are just part of the growth story, it is good to see our like-for-like sales continue to increase. It is especially pleasing to see sales in the Republic of Ireland return to positive territory.

“We may have a softer comparative for the second quarter of the year – but we will not be taking our foot off the accelerator. We have a number of marketing initiatives and other programmes aimed at ensuring our franchisees can profitably grow their businesses in the coming months. This, combined with a full pipeline of potential new sites, expansion in Germany, a strong management team in place and our ever improving operational gearing, makes me confident and optimistic about the months and years ahead.”