Dive Brief:
- On his first earnings call as CEO Tuesday, Domino’s CEO Joe Jordan said he is making “getting closer to the customer” one of the brand’s top priorities. Jordan stepped into the role earlier this month.
- The pizza chain’s strategy will emphasize understanding its customers and their needs to help it prioritize initiatives that it can act upon quickly and drive greater frequency, Jordan said on the Q3 2026 earnings call.
- Pizza is a mature category, and the challenge is finding ways to “drive outsized growth,” Jordan said on the call. “We need to think about how we could push pizza into places that it hasn't been before, and get occasions where pizza hasn't traditionally been considered.”
Dive Insight:
Domino’s plan to get closer to its customers is a bid to drive frequency against a tough consumer backdrop. The Domino’s Rewards loyalty program will play a role, as will an emphasis on greater operational consistency.
Consumer behavior is changing, and getting closer to customers will help the company understand how it can find new opportunities to serve them, including by expanding the kinds of occasions for which they think about ordering from Domino’s, according to Jordan.
Loyalty has been working hard for Domino’s, according to Jordan. The program started 2026 with 37.3 million active users, and now the company is focused on using that scale to increase visit frequency.
“We track our customers very closely, and how do we get that one, those two incremental occasions from that customer?” Jordan said. “Understanding what type of value, what type of offers we need to give them to get them coming back more often and drive that retention.”
Consistency and convenience are key elements of value, according to Jordan. He believes that Domino’s is too inconsistent, particularly in its operations, and expects that more consistent experiences will drive greater customer retention and frequency.
Domino’s isn’t alone in its push for consistency.
Wendy’s President and CEO Bob Wright, who joined the quick-service restaurant chain in May, emphasized the importance of consistency during his first earnings call in August. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has made greater consistency a central part of the ongoing Green Apron Service plan.
Domino’s will put its strategy to the test as it seeks to accelerate slow sales growth.
Comparable U.S. restaurant sales rose 0.3% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, according to an earnings report. Net sales rose 2.1% year over year in the U.S. during the quarter, reaching $2.4 billion. Total sales including international locations 3.2% year over year to $4.8 billion.
