Online Ordering Leader Papa John's First to Surpass $2 Billion in Online Sales

Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA 28.74, -0.03, -0.09%) -- which in 2001 was the first national pizza company to offer online ordering, at www.papajohns.com -- today surpassed $2 billion in online ordering pizza sales, reaching the milestone less than two years after becoming the first pizza company to eclipse $1 billion.

After hitting the $1 billion mark in 2008, Papa John's predicted it would take another three years to double that number. Yet, through constant improvements to the Website and the ordering experience -- such as 24/7 online ordering availability, a Spanish version of the Website and a Mobile website for ordering (mobile.papajohns.com) -- Papa John's has surpassed the mark faster than any pizza company worldwide.

"It has long been a priority at Papa John's to not only provide a quality pizza to our customers, but also provide them with quality, convenient high-tech resources to order pizza," said Jim Ensign, Papa John's Vice President, Digital Marketing. "As more and more people become dependent upon their computers and mobile devices to simplify their lives, our online ordering system has kept pace. This latest milestone of reaching $2 billion in online orders within two years of reaching the first billion proves that consumers are increasingly using alternative methods for purchases, and we look forward to growing our technology suite to fit consumers' evolving purchasing trends."

Papa John's online sales have grown exponentially since 2001, with online sales on average growing more than 50 percent each year through 2007 and steadily rising every year since. Today, more than 25 percent of all Papa John's sales come online or through text, widget, or mobile device, and the company believes sales via alternative access channels could one day surpass traditional telephone orders.

Since first offering online ordering in 2001, Papa John's continues to innovate in the online space including:

-- A Facebook "Fan" page, which includes more than 1.1 million fans

-- Over $17 million in Mobile web sales since launch in late 2008

-- Plan ahead ordering, allowing customers to place orders up to 21 days in advance

-- 24/7 online ordering, letting customers log on outside of business hours to place their orders

-- "Repeat Last Order" function, replicating a customer's most recent order with just one click