Back in September, H&M, the popular clothing retailer, announced plans to include Semacode bars on its advertisements, allowing customers to purchase items by quickly snapping a picture of the code on their cells. That same month, a McDonald’s in South Korea introduced new technology enabling customers to order food via their mobile phones. Diners using SK Telecom can download software onto their handsets, plug in a RFID (Radio-frequency identification) reader, scan their menu choices, pay the bill total, and receive a text message when their order was ready.
Now Papa John’s is hoping to raise its sales by riding the mobile ordering wave. The #3 pizza chain, which already receives 20% of its orders via its website, is starting a new text ordering service. The Wall Street Journal reports:
The restaurant chain is rolling out a service that lets customers order pies via text message. Customers first create an account online where they save as many as four different “favorite” orders that include any combination of pizza, sides and drinks, as well as a delivery address or carry-out information and payment type. Once that’s complete, customers can send a text message at any time using the shorthand “FAV1,” “FAV2,” “FAV3″ or “FAV4.”
A big part of Papa John’s motivation is marketing. The company hopes that text-message ordering will provide a new channel for it to hit customers with such things as coupons and updates on new menu items.
Domino’s Pizza debuted a cell-phone ordering system earlier this summer, but costumers have to access it via a mobile website. “Mobile ordering is a richer experience than text ordering,” says Jim Vitek, director of emerging technologies for Domino’s Pizza. You tell that to party-going teenagers at 3am! A quick, easy text to Papa John’s may be all they want—or can—handle.
Gomobo.com already allows customers to setup their favorite orders at eateries across the country, and then text the site special “Gocodes” that correspond to their specific choices. The free, pre-paid service had ABC’s Diane Sawyer smiling: “Imagine never having to wait in line for your morning coffee.”
True that. And no more long, confusing phone call orders, either.
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