Delivery King Domino's Gives In, Joins Forces With Uber Eats

Known for delivery in less than 30 minutes for decades, America's primary pizza peddler announced in July 2023 that it would begin working with Uber to deliver its pies. Domino's Pizza is "the largest pizza company in the world," according to the company's press release touting this new partnership. Domino's has worked immensely hard to establish a monumental network of pizza parlors around the country, with 6,400 individual stores in operation across the United States as of 2022.

Since 2008, when Domino's introduced its advanced online ordering system, the chain has continued to expand. In 2022, over a third of online pizza orders from major restaurants in the sector went to Domino's alone. However, issues with driver retention have started to take their toll on franchises, and Domino's has made the decision to follow others like Papa John's and Pizza Hut into the Uber Eats marketplace. 

For years, Domino's resisted placing its menu on third-party delivery platforms for fear that a lack of pricing control would erode its loyal customer base. However, with continuing stress in the market for pizza and food delivery more broadly, it's clear that a change was necessary to maintain the high degree of success that Domino's has long enjoyed.

Domino's enjoyed the largest share of pizza chain sales in 2022, with 30.8% of all sales in the United States. The restaurant has long been an innovator when it comes to pizza delivery and supply chain infrastructure — for instance, the ubiquitous pizza box that keeps your pie intact was designed by the founder of Domino's.

Uber and it's Uber Eats service are no stranger to innovation, either. The partnership between these gigantic firms will see the Domino's menu added to the Uber Eats environment, allowing users to order directly from this app that enjoys a user base of roughly 81 million people globally. However, delivery will remain in the hands of uniformed Domino's drivers. 

The new layout will be rolled out in four pilot markets in the fall of 2023, with ordering on both Uber Eats and Postmates. The duo anticipate national adoption by the end of the year, illuminating a relatively quick timeline for this shift.