Domino’s is rolling out a historic innovation by making ordering available on wearables, giving customers the ability to place pizza orders from their Android Wear and Pebble smartwatches, suggesting that smartwatch ordering will be a tactic to watch in 2015.

The pizza brand has been on a roll in the mobile sector recently, hitting milestones such as topping a half-million orders via its mobile voice ordering assistant, Dom. However, foraying into smartwatch ordering is a bold move that may pay off even more for the company if the wearables prove to be popular with customers.

“The days of not knowing or waiting in the dark have passed us by,” said Lior Sion, chief technology officer of Bringg, Israel. “Users want to know where ‘their everything’ is at all times.

“We are currently witnessing an extremely high level of excitement and adoption of the tracking capabilities of our own even for tech savvy people who are accustomed to other tracking solutions. As for replacement, as mobile didn’t kill the Web but complimented it, we believe that smartwatches won’t replace either in-app or online ordering,” he said.

“People will love different ways of ordering, but they will all LOVE tracking.”

Historic innovation
Domino’s is furthering its goal of becoming the leading food marketer in mobile by now offering. Consumers interested in taking advantage of the feature must download the Domino’s application for their smartwatches, and create a Pizza Profile with a saved recent order or Easy Order.

This enables them to send their recent or favorite order to a local Domino’s. Users can also track their order as it becomes fulfilled via the Domino’s Tracker application, available for the Pebble smartwatch (see story).

Guests using the Domino’s Tracker can set their smartwatch to receive alerts when their pizza is baking, out with a delivery driver and being brought to their front door. The real-time notifications will offer customers added convenience and information, which will be valuable to those on-the-go or not at home while their order is being completed.

Domino’s has been adding more digital ordering options to its already-extensive list. In addition to placing orders on Android Wear and Pebble smartwatches, guests can also order via apps available for Android smartphone, iPhone, iPad, Kindle Fire and Windows Phone 8.

“Integration with watches will be a natural extension of the need to know when and where our stuff is,” Mr. Sion said. “We have found that knowing that you have those 3-5 minutes spare to quickly hop in the shower before your pizza arrives is such a great way to keep customers happy.

“The Domino’s integration will surely provide that feeling.”

Domino’s also has a mobile-optimized Web site with ordering functions.

Recent achievements
Domino’s recently revealed that its virtual ordering assistant, Dom, helped the brand reach a milestone of a half-million orders since the 2014 launch (see story). Dom has helped augment the company’s awareness while serving as an unofficial mascot.

Customers have enjoyed Dom’s catchphrases and ability to suggest additional menu items to help round out a delicious meal. However, it is the sheer convenience of being able to order while on-the-go, especially from a vehicle, that has contributed to Dom’s success.

Voice ordering functions could also be an optimal strategy for food and beverage marketers to explore if they plan on introducing applications for wearables. This way, a customer may place an order by speaking into his or her smartwatch from an office desk, car or at home.

Ultimately, Domino’s dedication to digital channels and its decision to roll out innovative offerings are helping the pizza brand steadily climb to the top of the sector. With 2015’s focus on wearables, this was a strong strategy indeed.

“While we all know people love ordering stuff, what they love even more is tracking their stuff,” Mr. Sion said. “We have customers (restaurants) telling us they used to get 50 calls a day saying ‘hey, where’s my pizza?’

“And by just showing them the progress of their delivery they were able to reduce those call to practically zero.  It’s a win win for both customer and restaurant.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York