Papa John's Surpasses $1 Million in Mobile Web Orders

By: Papa Johns | 3 Shares 56 Reads

Louisville, Ky., (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA), the company that pioneered ordering pizza online and by text message, has surpassed $1 million in sales by mobile Web since launching the technology in July.

The milestone is the latest in a rapid rise in "alternative ordering" channels and sales for the chain, which earlier this year eclipsed $1 billion in overall online sales and recently rolled out a Facebook page that captured more than 175,000 fans in less than a week. In addition, the brand best known for its "Better Ingredients. Better Pizza." slogan is adding even more "Better Technology" once again by offering a new iPhone application to its suite of digital widgets, available on "Cyber Monday," Dec. 1.

"We pride ourselves on being the quality pizza leader and for bringing the most convenient high-tech resources to our customers," said Jim Ensign, Papa John's vice president, marketing communications. "This latest milestone of reaching $1 million in mobile web orders in such a short time proves that consumers are increasingly using alternative methods for purchases, and we look forward to growing our technology capabilities to fit consumers' evolving purchasing trends."

To punctuate a year that has seen the brand continue its leadership in convenience innovation digital enhancements, the new Papa John's iPhone application will be tailored to include optimized menus, entry fields and graphics. Additionally, the restaurant locator will have a link to Google Maps, so users can both find the address of a restaurant, and click to a map for directions. Plus, just to make ordering even more accessible, the iPhone will have a Papa John's short cut icon connected directly to the main mobile Web ordering screen.

"Papa John's recognizes that people are using their handheld devices to make everything they can more convenient, and that includes viewing an entire menu before ordering their pizza," said Nigel Travis, Papa John's, president and CEO. "The trend now is to leave the laptop at home when traveling. Almost everything can be done right from your phone, including viewing an entire menu and making the selection of what's right for dinner."

The popularity of Papa John's mobile Web ordering could see another spike as the country enters holiday shopping season. With many shoppers out on "Black Friday" and at the computers on "Cyber Monday," the way in which consumers handle food orders could continue to drive toward these alternative channels.

Papa John's online sales have grown exponentially since 2001, with online sales on average growing more than 50% each year and nearly reaching $400 million in 2007 alone. Today, more than 20% of all Papa John's sales come online or through text, widget, or smart mobile device, and the company believes sales via alternative access channels could one day surpass traditional telephone orders.

Since first offering online ordering in 2001, Papa John's has implemented the following upgrades and innovations:

Plan ahead ordering, allowing customers to place orders up to 21 days in advance
24/7 online ordering, letting customers log on outside of business hours to place their orders
"Repeat Last Order" function, replicating a customer's most recent order with just one click
"Favorites Wizard," allowing customers to save their most frequent menu combinations
SMS/text ordering for U.S. customers who have set up their favorite orders at papajohns.com
In July, Papa John's introduced Mobile Web ordering that allows consumers the convenience of ordering from smart phones
A Facebook "Fan" page added on November 17, which now features more than 170,000 fans

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For nine years running, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also ranks first among pizza companies in the 2008 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, was honored by Restaurants & Institutions Magazine (R&I) with the 2008 Silver Award for Consumers' Choice in Chains in the pizza segment, and was named 2007 Pizza Today Chain of the Year. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.

SOURCE: Papa John's International, Inc.

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