Papa John's Hits $1B in Online Pizza Sales

Papa John's passed the $1-billion mark in online pizza orders yesterday, trumpeting growth in Internet sales averaging 50% per year since it debuted the service in 2001. Domino’s and Pizza Hut join the third-place pizza-delivery chain in reporting that the Internet is giving the business new life and increasing their slice of the casual dining pie, reports the AP. Pizza Hut says its online orders have grown sixfold in the last 3 years, and Domino's says its tracking system has given the company a "big bump."

"It took us 7 years to reach our first billion in online sales," said a Papa John's spokesman, "and at our current pace and growth rate it will take us less than 3 years to hit our next billion." (More Papa John's stories.)