Thursday, September 4, 2008

Mobile Searches Show Strong Demand for Pizza


Pizza grabbed four of 10 spots in a recent list of mobile-directory restaurant searches in US metropolitan areas, according to V-Enable, as reported by TechCrunch. Pizza Hut, Domino�s, Papa John�s and Little Caesar�s all made the top six.

Results of the study suggest directory-search trends point to evidence of the lagging economy. Sit-down, full-service restaurants such as Olive Garden, Applebee�s and Red Lobster have dropped in the rankings, while lower-priced, convenience-oriented operations have gained ground.

Some 380% more searches for Pizza Hut were conducted between October 2007 and June 2008 than previously, and searches for Domino�s Pizza have increased 980% during the same period.

Top mobile restaurant searches (Oct. �07 to June �08):

1.Pizza Hut
2.McDonald�s
3.Domino�s Pizza
4.Starbucks
5.Papa John�s Pizza
6.Little Caesar�s Pizza
7.Taco Bell
8.Burger King
9.Wendy�s
10.Denny�s
People are staying home and ordering in because of the economy, and they are opting for less expensive meal alternatives, according to V-Enable, which pointed to other evidence from searches pointing to the economic downturn:

�U-Haul, which was never in the top 50, is now #23 in general search. V-Enable suggests this might be indicative of more foreclosures and the need to move.
�Macy�s dropped from #17 to #49 in retail searches, possibly suggesting that shopping for discretionary items has slowed.
�Motel 6, which has never been in the top 50, is now #37 in general search. This could be because travelers are looking for budget alternatives to pricey hotels.
About the study: The study was conducted with a random sampling of 20,000 searches in major metropolitan areas from customers of V-Enable partner carriers, including Alltel and MetroPCS. According to V-Enable, mobile search happens in real-time and is unaffected by SEO, making these statistics more reflective of consumer sentiment than web search.

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