Twitter Emoji Pizza Order: Hot or Half-Baked?

By now, you’ve probably seen the commercials filled with celebrities ordering Domino’s Pizza through various channels. There’s the smart watch order, the Twitter emoji order, the smart TV order, the text emoji order, and of course, the simple website order.

First of all: Wow. That kind of accessibility across a wide array of mobile and online channels is pretty stunning. It’s designed to grab attention, to impress, to rub other pizza delivery companies’ noses in the fact that Domino’s did it first. They did it first, and then they lined up a star-studded cast to introduce the technology to the world.

Now that we’re done being impressed, let’s decide if omnichannel ordering (and if ever there was an example of omnichannel, this is it) is the way of the future or the way to really irritate your consumers.

Who Benefits?

Aside from Domino’s, which has the world murmuring in muted, impressed tones right now, who really benefits from the ability to order pizza via Twitter emojis? Obviously, the first person that comes to mind is the buyer who loves instant gratification. Then there’s the teen who talks only in emojis and text-speak. Who’s left? Maybe families with weekly pizza nights that feature the same order over and over.

Let’s consider the consumer that’s jonesing for pizza without pomp and circumstance. Who really has the time to call in an order anymore, especially when call waiting and hold buttons are still so widely used? When you go online, you have to take the time to type in all your information, and no one really wants to do that, either. A simple emoji by text or directed @dominos should do the trick.

Those teens and college students who prefer to cut their communication down to smiley faces and other emojis also benefit from the new ordering options. But, setting up an account for easy ordering requires a credit card.

The reality is, creating an account, entering financial information, ordering your first pizza so you can set up your preferences—this all adds up to a kind of frustrating set-up situation, as one emoji-ordering customer discovered.

The Real Story

The set up process for ordering pizza is a bit of a pain, especially for new Domino’s customers. Those willing to go through the process for the instant gratification later might find they’re happy enough in the end. Beyond the initial setup, you must prefer to eat the same pizza over and over again. If you like to change things up, you have to go online or call in your order anyway—you know, the old-fashioned way.

Omnichannel is here to stay, but depending on what your ecommerce company sells, you may need a more robust ordering system than just an emoji. Seems there are a few more bugs to iron out before we get exactly what we need from emoji text and Twitter orders. Or maybe you’re already ordering your pizza of choice!