A Lingering Glance … at Pepperoni?

A new ‘subconscious menu’ being tested at U.K.-based Pizza Hut locations lets customers order with their eyes.

December 03, 2014

LONDON – Just when we thought mobile ordering, or even mobile voice ordering, was the future of pizza delivery, something new comes along. According to a report in the Washington Post, Pizza Hut is currently testing technology that allows diners to order within seconds, using only their eyes.

Calling it "the world's first subconscious menu," the pizza chain began testing a special eye-tracking tablet with some of the diners of its 300 locations across the United Kingdom in October. The digital menu shows diners an image with 20 toppings and builds their pizza, from one of 4,896 combinations, based on which toppings they looked at longest.

"Finally the indecisive orderer and the prolonged menu peruser can cut time and always get it right," a Pizza Hut spokesperson said in a statement, "so that the focus of dining can be on the most important part — the enjoyment of eating!"

The menu, built by Swedish eye-tracking firm Tobii Technology, is the product of six months of retina-scanning development and "psychological research," according to Pizza Hut. While the testing is currently available only in the U.K., the possibility exists for expansion to the United States.

According to the article, even if Pizza Hut’s "subconscious menu" is never fully actualized, the chain could benefit from looking like it's as digitally savvy as rival Domino's, in the highly competitive pizza industry.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement