Domino’s debuts smartwatch ordering

RACHEL TRUONG
ASST. BUSINESS EDITOR

According to the Huffington Post, pizza is the number one food item that college students order. University of San Diego is no exception to this finding, as there are numerous pizza places located right down the street from the university.
Many students order from the closest pizzeria, Domino’s, though others can also choose from popular eateries such as Little Caesers, zpizza, and Round Table Pizza.
In response to the large population of college students demanding an easier way to order pizza, many pizzerias, such as Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, have started to offer online ordering systems that allow users to customize and order without having to call it in.
These companies have also responded to the increasing use of smartphones by releasing apps that allow users to order their pizza with a single touch.
Domino’s Pizza announced an app that allows users to order from their smartwatch. It lets users customize their orders, and track the progress of their pizza. A similar function is available on the Domino’s website.
Kevin Vasconi, the chief information officer of the Domino’s Pizza company, released a statement regarding the move to make Domino’s a presence on the smartwatch as well as smartphones and the Internet. He emphasized the importance of customer convenience.
“Pairing Domino’s with smartwatch technology couldn’t be more of a natural fit,” Vasconi said. “We are constantly looking for ways to use technology to enhance our customers’ experience and provide them with more convenience. We pride ourselves on having a variety of online ordering options for customers to choose from.”
However, users cannot operate the app fully on their smartwatches, unless it is paired with the same app on their smartphone.
They would save specific orders to their pizza profile  that they would have customized on their computer or smartphone and be able to open the app on their smartwatch and view everything saved to their profile.
This eliminates the need to navigate through the entire menu on the smartwatch’s small screen. From there, all you have to do is choose the order you want.
USD junior Dennis Wong is a frequent customer of Domino’s Pizza. He expressed his doubts about whether or not the new app would increase convenience for customers.
“Well, the first thing we have to remember is that not everyone has a smartwatch, and not everyone is willing to buy one,” Wong said. “And then you’ll have to remember that you can easily do all of this from your computer, and if not, from your phone. So really, the only thing I can see this being is just a quick thing to turn to if you have, say, three specific things you order from Domino’s, and only those three specific things.”
On the other hand, freshman Pauline Abdul expressed approval of the smartwatch app.
“I usually like to know when my pizza is about to be here,” Abdul said. “And while I can track it pretty easily on my computer when I’m at home, I can’t exactly have my phone out when I’m on the go. With this app, all I’ll have to do is glance at my watch. So now I will be able to order a pizza, go out grocery shopping, then get back home in time to pick it up.”
The Domino’s smartwatch app is set to debut on Monday, March 9, 2015. It will be available on the Pebble and Android Wear smartwatches.