Domino's: Taking the guesswork out of pizza delivery with Google Maps Platform
About Domino's
Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world, with a significant business in both delivery and carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 20,000 stores in over 90 markets.
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Contact usWith Google Maps Platform mobility services, Domino's was able to pioneer an innovative delivery option for customers who are looking to drop a pin to get a pizza delivered.
Google Maps Platform results
- Allows customers to place an order anywhere without requiring a physical street address
- Identifies optimal pickup points so customers and drivers can meet at reachable and convenient locations
- Calculates optimized routes for drivers based on a customer's dropped pin, ensuring a more seamless and accessible delivery
- Offers a unique frictionless delivery experience that helps to drive increased app downloads
- Enables order visibility and transparency for customers with real-time tracking on a dynamic map
With the Google Maps Platform mobility services, Domino's pioneered a new service method that lets customers simply drop a pin and get a pizza
How do you stay ahead of the curve for more than half a century in the unforgiving food business? For Domino's, the answer has always been to keep innovating. Since 1960, the pizza restaurant chain has continually elevated its delivery experience, from bringing transparency to pizza delivery with its industry-leading Domino's Pizza Tracker, to an electric vehicle delivery fleet that sustainably brings pizzas to the customer's door. To meet customers where they are in the digital era, Domino's has become a data-driven tech company, and the efforts have paid off. Today, with more than 20,000 stores across 90 countries, Domino's is the number one pizza company in the world with over 80% of its sales in the US from digital channels.
So, in an effort to put even more choice and control in their customers' hands, Domino's sought opportunities to innovate and push the envelope even further. It did so by using Google Maps Platform Mobility services to bring to life a new delivery option called Domino's Pinpoint Delivery.
"We were looking for a technology solution that's going to be consistent, reliable, and ultimately will deliver exactly the experience we want," says Brandon Shipman, the Director of Digital Innovation at Domino's. "With that business strategy in mind, Google Maps Platform really is the only answer."
Drop a pin, get a pizza
Domino's wanted to let customers order pizza from just about anywhere. The customer journey used to start with the customer typing a delivery address into the Domino's app, connecting the customer to the nearest Domino's franchise, and then the customer browsing the relevant Domino's menu and offers.
"We were looking for a technology solution that's going to be consistent, reliable, and ultimately will deliver exactly the experience we want. With that business strategy in mind, Google Maps Platform really is the only answer."
—Brandon Shipman, Director of Digital Innovation, Domino'sWith Domino's Pinpoint Delivery customers simply drop a pin on a map within the Domino's app, and whether it's at the park, the beach, a concert venue, or even a new residential development under construction, Domino's will deliver to that location. For customers, there's no more worrying if they've typed the correct address or if the driver knows their street.
Domino's had been exploring ways to let people order from nontraditional locations for a while. In 2018, it rolled out Domino's Hotspots, a curated set of drop-off points at locations like beaches, parks, and stadium lots. Domino's franchisees predetermined these drop-off locations available for delivery, which provided the convenience of not requiring a street address, but it did not really put the order flexibility in the customer's hands.
Leading with innovation
The vision for Domino's Pinpoint Delivery was to put even more convenience into the customer's hands—allowing its brand to be present and available wherever its customers were. So when customers are not at home or work, they now have the option to order Domino's in a way they never did before.
To realize this vision, Domino's needed a solution to help bring it to life. Around that time, Google Maps Platform launched Mobility services and it provided the experience and features the team needed to deliver on the promise of Pinpoint Delivery.
"Being the first of its kind, we had to figure out how to make the solution work. Our partnership with Google was a big part of that, including leveraging the new mapping products to help us fulfill the experience that we wanted. We went through a lot of iterations—collaboration from both Google Maps Platform and the Domino's teams to work towards a product design that actually met the spec of what we were looking for. We were really happy with the commitment from Google Maps Platform to lean in on this feature and be part of this experience," says Christopher Thomas-Moore, Chief Digital Officer at Domino's.
A more transparent real-time delivery experience
A key requirement for Pinpoint Delivery was making sure drivers had accessible and efficient locations to meet the customers for the delivery. Google Maps Platform services was able to help identify optimal locations for the driver to meet the customer, without compromising the customer's Pinpoint Delivery experience. But, Google Maps Platform mobility services help identify optimal and comfortable locations for the driver to drop off the order without compromising the customer's Pinpoint Delivery experience.
The Navigation SDK provided the means to integrate the real-time order tracking directly in the Domino's customer-facing application. So, customers can track their order progress directly in the app. Similarly, Domino's integrated its dedicated app for drivers with the Navigation SDK so, with a simple tap of a button, the Domino's driver app links a customer's dropped pin to a precise location on the map and automatically displays turn-by-turn directions for drivers.
"Google Maps Platform and specifically the Navigation SDK is the glue holding our customer and driver experiences together," said Colette Kline, Product Lead, Digital Innovation at Domino's. "Pinpoint helps us deliver pizzas faster than ever to the customer."
The benefits extend both ways. Domino's can offer a more transparent experience to its customers, who can track their order in real-time. In addition, once the driver arrives, customers can virtually signal drivers toward their meeting point using the Domino's 'tile' icon, so they know exactly who requested the delivery.
"Google Maps Platform and specifically the Navigation SDK is the glue holding our customer and driver experiences together. Pinpoint helps us deliver pizzas faster than ever to the customer."
—Colette Kline, Product Lead, Digital Innovation, Domino'sDomino's also built in a feature where customers could just call their driver directly (masking both the customer's and team member driver's phone numbers). The driver, through the Domino's driver app, could receive the phone call and they will know it's the delivery customer.
"Time and time again, we have realized if we wanted to do anything with mapping and address location, Google Maps Platform is what we need for accuracy, speed, and efficiency," says Shipman. "Being able to point to exactly where you are and having Google Maps Platform autocomplete that location information for you makes our customer experience so much better."
Fine-tuning Pinpoint Delivery across the US has already earned Domino's a seal of approval from customers. Its versatile and unique experience helps to drive app downloads, which are important for pizza ordering and delivery experience.
"Who would have thought that you could drop a pin and have a pizza come to just about anywhere? We did."
—Christopher Thomas-Moore, Chief Digital Officer, Domino's
Sell more pizza, have more fun
Next, Domino's will continue to innovate to unlock new delivery experiences, make the delivery experience more enriching, and improve the store experiences for its team members. Christopher Thomas-Moore, Chief Digital Officer at Domino's reflects, "At Domino's, one of our sayings is 'sell more pizza, have more fun.' And this project has been just such a fun and exciting project and a very rewarding one that unlocks what we call 'the power of possible.' And, who would have thought that you could drop a pin and have a pizza come to just about anywhere? We did."
Tell us your challenge. We're here to help.
Contact us
About Domino's
Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the largest pizza company in the world, with a significant business in both delivery and carryout pizza. It ranks among the world's top public restaurant brands with a global enterprise of more than 20,000 stores in over 90 markets.