Domino’s ups marketing investment as part of growth strategy

Domino’s says investment in marketing and innovation will be key to growth in a post-pandemic economy, as it aims to hit sales of between £1.6bn to £1.9bn this year.

The fast-food brand has outlined a multi-year strategy for driving growth, which focuses on leveraging market opportunities, digital capabilities and its brand.

With the launch of this new strategy for growth, Domino’s is looking to take advantage of the momentum built up over the past year as people were forced to dine at home more frequently.

Domino’s credits its strategy to balance investment in brand and data for driving sales throughout the pandemic. The company has posted sales of £1.3bn for the year, a 11.4% rise compared to the same period in 2019, with underlying profit before tax at £101.2m.

We know how to improve our marketing effectiveness, utilise data and insights to inform our decision making… and accelerate our already strong digital and technology credentials.

Dominic Paul, Domino’s

Domino’s plans for digital transformation accelerated as a result of Covid. Online sales for the year to 27 December 2020 surged 23.9%, with online delivery sales now accounting for 94.3% of all sales in the UK.

The chain says it now needs to operate in an environment that has “changed forever” as consumers’ use of food delivery services increases and digital becomes the preferred option.

“We have already invested in our core capabilities and built upon our core strengths to capture the opportunities ahead,” says Domino’s CEO Dominic Paul.

“We know how to improve our marketing effectiveness, utilise data and insights to inform our decision making, leverage the strength of our supply chain to drive efficiencies and accelerate our already strong digital and technology credentials.”

Paul describes the Domino’s app as the “driving force” of its digital offer with sales growing 26.2%, accounting for 43.3% of all online sales. The app had 4.3 million downloads in 2020.

As part of its growth strategy, Domino’s also plans to open 200 new stores, boost its collection business, improve product quality and uphold industry-leading economics.

Customer insight

The company created a data and insights team in March 2020 to capitalise on customer data, which allowed the business to better understand customers and changing demands throughout the pandemic.

This data aided decision making when it came to reopening stores with contact-free collection in the summer, for example, as well as choosing which items to temporarily remove from the menu to improve social distancing during preparation.

The company is now building customer insight into decision making across the business to help create more “focused” marketing, to support innovation and improve customer experience.

The new team will also enable Domino’s to build capabilities in CRM, personalisation, sales forecasting and test and learn programmes for marketing channels.

Domino’s has a new mobile app in the pipeline, which will enable group ordering and a next generation website that will offer a more personalised experience.

In January the company merged its digital team under the remit marketing as it aimed to boost its digital capabilities.