Online Food Ordering

Abby Laner

Original link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/fashion/05fast.html?ref=style


An article from the New York Times on August 5, 2007 discusses the restaurant industry’s growth in the online community. The article talks about how many restaurants are changing their telephone ordering and using online ordering methods instead. The article states that customers can “order online before pulling into a drive-through; they can text-message and order, and soon, they will be able to experience one-click ordering from their cell phones, for pickup or delivery.”

These particular restaurants have experienced a large growth in the number of sales from carry-out sales because of the new technology. Many Americans use Blackberrys and other hand-held devices to keep track of their daily routines and now the option of ordering by clicking through a cell phone seems to be appealing to many people around the country.

A manager from Domino’s Pizza said that the online ordering has grown immensely within the past several years. He predicts that pizza will soon be one of the top 10 items purchased online within the next 12 to 24 months.

I believe the option of online ordering is becoming even more popular among business men and women who are often too busy to leave the office and go to lunch. They can order food while at their desk and have the food dropped off to their office much easier than leaving or even calling in an order. Even the cash option has faded because many people simply enter their credit card numbers into the system and they are saved and used again for each purchase that is made.

The article also explains how the college community is adjusting to the new technology of online ordering. Www.campusfood.com offers a way for students to log in and enter their state and school name. From this screen, the system will direct the student to local restaurants who are currently accepting online orders. The order can be made and payment options and delivery times are shown for the student.

Many people prefer to use the online ordering system because of the convenience and also because it lowers the chance that the order will be messed up or inaccurate. By using the computer to type the exact order, no orders will go without a side of fries or onions on the side. This option makes it much easier for people of different backgrounds who may not speak very good English.

Not surprisingly, pizza is on the top of the list for online orders, but other different kinds of foods are also climbing the list. According to the article, Chipotle began its online ordering a year ago and the orders from the first half of this year are already up 100,000 from last year.

Overall, people are starting to use the online ordering more rapidly. It is giving consumers more power over their orders and is much more convenient than other ordering options.