Domino’s CEO Sees Future In Autonomous Delivery

In the future of fast food, Domino’s Pizza’s CEO Patrick Doyle sees more voice orders from customers and deliveries from autonomous cars, he said in a Wednesday (Jan. 17) interview with TheStreet.

Some changes will occur over the short term, while others will take longer to come to fruition.

“I think the one thing you will see change over the next three to five years is I think you will see more and more people using natural voice to place orders as opposed to thumbing things into their screens,” Doyle said.

Domino’s already allows customers to place pizza orders through voice-controlled devices. According to news from Digiday, one in five customers who can order a pizza delivery with one click through the company’s Easy Orders option — which allows users to order through services like Facebook Messenger and Google Home — is now asking Amazon’s Alexa to do so instead.

In addition to voice ordering, Doyle said he sees pizza deliveries made without a human delivery driver — in the long-term future, that is.

“Probably the earliest it will happen is three to five years from now,” he said. “I would be very surprised if it doesn’t happen in the next 10 years, which is why we are investing time and resources in understanding this shift.”

The interview comes as rumors are swirling that Doyle, who led a turnaround at Domino’s, may be moving to Chipotle to turn business around at the quick service restaurant (QSR) chain, Reuters reported. He is stepping down from the pizza giant at the end of June, but said he would not be leaving the business entirely. Instead, he is taking six months to reflect and consider his next move.

“Every other theory about what I’m going to be doing is incorrect,” Doyle said.

Business has been good at Domino’s, as Credit Suisse has upgraded its rating on the company last week from neutral to outperform.