Papa John’s Sales Jump As Mobile Ordering Gains Steam

As COVID-19 keeps disrupting everyday life, North America comparable sales at Papa John’s rocketed almost 27 percent last month. CEO Rob Lynch told CNBC in a televised interview that April was the best month in the history of the quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain.

The mobile ordering industry has continued to gain momentum, with almost 50 million consumers forecasted to be using food delivery apps by next year. Dine-in restrictions and stay-at-home decrees are making diners turn to takeout and delivery through mobile apps, and it is not clear what the industry will look like when the virus recedes.

While diners still risk infection from person-to-person contact with delivery workers, mobile ordering apps are putting measures into place to decrease this risk. They are, in one case, letting delivery workers put food in front of the door of a diner and leave in lieu of risking an infection when they give the order to the customer.

But the executive noted that the coronavirus wasn’t the only impetus driving the sales increase.

Lynch told of the firm’s delivery tie-ups, menu innovation and rewards program. He said per the outlet, “We have 1 million new customers coming into the franchise. A lot of those coming are in through our loyalty program.” The executive noted that those growth factors were put into place before COVID-19 and will stay in effect. Lynch said, “We feel very confident that we have the infrastructure in place to deliver long-term, sustainable growth.”

And, outside of the pandemic, one report indicated that diners spent more on food via alternative ordering methods such as delivery, digital ordering and kiosks last year than through over-the-counter sales.

The average ticket sizes for those orders were 59.8 percent higher, according to data in the PYMNTS Mobile Order-Ahead Tracker, showing that mobile order-ahead and delivery may not only be convenient: Those ordering options can also possibly lead to higher check sizes.