Domino’s Captures Larger Slice of Revenue With Rewards Program

Domino’s said its decision to relaunch its rewards program last year is paying off.

The quick-service pizza chain released quarterly earnings results Monday (April 29) showing a 5.6% increase in U.S. sales, with management pointing to the rewards program as a driver of that growth.

“The program is delivering on our objectives,” CEO Russell Weiner said on an earnings call. “Active member growth rates are up significantly since the launch of our new program; from a percentage, our biggest increases are coming from new lapsed and light customers. So, we’re bringing these new customers into the fold.”

As customers become members, he added, “they’re redeeming more than ever before, and increases are being seen across all of our channels, delivery and carryout.”

Domino’s reintroduced the rewards program in September, part of a broader trend of eateries resurrecting loyalty offerings.

“At a time when most brands are scaling back their loyalty programs and making it more difficult to earn and redeem points, Domino’s is doing the opposite,” Mark Messing, the restaurant’s vice president of digital experience and loyalty, said in a statement at the time. “We want to make it easier to reward our customers and give them more options so they can get rewarded faster.”

As PYMNTS noted late last year, the move came on the heels of the chain finally teaming up with third-party aggregators to keep diners in tune with direct ordering channels.

On Monday’s call, Weiner noted that Domino’s is now witnessing a larger percentage of single-user transactions on Uber Eats than what it is seeing on its own channels.

“Further, this channel is becoming more promotional,” he told analysts. “Customer responses to deals are stronger than to everyday low prices. As a result, we are continuing to work to fine-tune our marketing spend and our offers … through Uber Eats, while ensuring that the best values for our customers remain on our own channels.”

Elsewhere on the rewards front, PYMNTS Karen Webster spoke earlier this month with Ed Eger, CEO of Rewards Network, which works to drive customers into restaurants to fill unsold seats — the highest margin diner that restaurants can serve.

“If you can’t fill a table at a restaurant one night, you can’t make up for it the next night … you can’t resell it,” Eger said, noting that when those seats are filled, the restaurant’s margin can be as high as 70%.