Dominos Starts Using Digital Signage To Improve Mobile Order Pickup

February 17, 2020 by Dave Haynes

If you have that industry disorder that has you walking into places and thinking about where to position screens, then you will have likely walked into quick service restaurants and wondered why operators who enable mobile pickups aren’t using digital signage.

I think it’s a not yet, versus a never, but for now, what I often see is either nothing indicating where to pickup, or printed and even handwritten signs saying Mobile Pickup Here.

The pizza chain Dominos has started touting something called Pie Pass technology, which is effectively a mobile app tied to a digital screen. Carry-out/takeaway customers can tap on an app as they approach a Domino’s outlet, to let the system and staff know. A digital display at the order counter flags the customer name on a screen, allowing them to avoid what might be a line-up for orders and pickups.

It works like this:

“We know that carryout customers value speed and simplicity, and that is exactly what they’ll receive with Pie Pass,” says Dennis Maloney, Domino’s senior vice president and chief innovation officer. “Gone are the days of waiting for your carryout order – now when customers arrive at the store, they’ll be greeted by name on our digital signage and handed their order. It’s the ultimate VIP carryout experience where customers don’t have to be a regular customer to be treated like one.”

Domino’s carryout customers who order and pay online or via the app will be eligible to use Pie Pass. When they arrive in the parking lot and are about to enter the store, they can check in on the Domino’s Tracker or order confirmation page, which will give the store team members a head start on making sure the order is ready to go. The in-store digital menu board will welcome the customer by name, and store team members will be ready for a speedy handoff, making for a perfect pizza pickup!

The YouTube video is part of the marketing campaign.

Domino’s latest carryout innovation comes with a new TV ad that gives a nod to every regular’s dream gathering place: “Cheers.” The ad, which begins airing today, features Norm (played by George Wendt) walking down the stairs to enter Domino’s, shocked to find out, for once, nobody knows his name. It turns out, he should have used Domino’s Pie Pass. The video features a Domino’s store built to resemble the iconic “Cheers” bar. Domino’s integrated original footage of Norm from the TV show into the current-day scene. To do it, Domino’s brought in George to do the voice acting for … well … himself, and then built the set and planned the shots for a seamless integration.

This makes perfect sense for operators who are increasingly seeing customer orders happening away from the premises, and then dealing with people as they walk through a door.  No system means people tying up counter staff, asking if an order is ready. A system that borrows on order management and queue management technology stops much of that, and boosts the critical measure of customer experience.

  1. Dave

    This is kinda brilliant. In DOOH you often here people say digital + mobile = 3. Combining mobile location data with DOOH is said to be one to the top trends fo 2020. This idea shows a new linkage between digital signage and mobile, with a solid customer service benefit.

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