Last year the Domino’s Pizza Group managed to rack up an impressive £1 billion in sales worldwide, representing a 14.5 per cent annual increase. And one of the firm’s most important weapons in its fast food arsenal is being able to sell food via safe shopping online to a smartphone-savvy customer base.

Sales were up by 7.5 per cent in the UK, where 81 new Domino’s locations were opened over the course of 2016. Online orders accounted for 72 per cent of all sales here, with 73 per cent of this proportion being channelled through mobiles and tablets.

Year on year, there has been a 31 per cent increase in mobile sales enjoyed by Domino’s in the UK, according to Internet Retailing. And online sales growth was much higher than the overall increase in sales experienced by the firm.

The retailer revealed that the driving force behind its e-commerce expansion is its dominance in the mobile sphere, with almost 15 million people having made use of its dedicated applications.

Last year also saw the launch of an automated chat service integrated with Facebook Messenger, which enables customers to place orders and get other queries answered in real time without the need to launch a separate app or visit the firm’s m-commerce site.

Interestingly, the proportion of mobile sales made in Ireland is slightly higher than in the UK, even if online ordering in general is less popular.

The main reason that Domino’s has been so successful in offering pizza via safe shopping online is that fast food goes hand in hand with convenience, and there is nothing simpler than ordering a delivery from a mobile device while sitting on the sofa. This gels perfectly with its customer base, ensuring that more growth is likely to be seen in 2017.