Emoji Ordering Be Damned, Domino's Announces ‘Easy Order’ Pizza Button

Domino’s, the second largest pizza chain in the U.S., wants to make ordering pizza as easy as possible. This is why the chain, which currently operates roughly 11,000 franchises nationwide, rolled out an emoji ordering feature earlier this year then blanketed television with ads for it featuring Sarah Hyland, Clark Gregg from Agents of Shield, and Eva Longoria. The point was, nominally, to encourage people to use a new feature, but it seemed the bigger idea was to remind people how easy ordering Domino’s pizza can be. Either way, it must have worked because the company is doubling down. Domino’s has announced the creation of the “Limited Edition Easy Order,” a physical button that puts pizza a press away.

The buttons, which are set to debut in December, will be distributed as part of a social media contest clearly designed to up the company’s mobile game, which already counts for roughly a third of orders. Like other classic delivery businesses, Domino’s is now in competition with many more restaurants due to services like Seamless and Postmates. If convenience, not taste, is the differentiating factor, the company will have to continue to innovate on the ease-of-order front. That said, it’ll be hard to beat a button.

In October, Domino’s also released images of its custom-built pizza delivery Mini, prompting fond reminiscences of Neal Stephenson’s novel “Snow Crash” and the “Deliverator.” Now, we have basically a Yo app for slices, and arduino for cheese, a big red button for unilateral pepperoni strikes and Domino’s is honestly running out of ways to streamline its process. One strongly suspects that if the company sees continued sales growth, it’ll double down on its speed strategy. At this point, that’s going to require taking a look at the ovens.