Core Insights - The 2026 Annual Pizza Delivery and Carryout Study by Intouch Insight highlights that food quality is the primary driver of customer satisfaction, enabling mid-sized chains to compete effectively against larger brands [1][3]. Industry Overview - The study involved mystery shoppers evaluating 600 orders from 10 leading national and regional pizza chains, including Domino's, Pizza Hut, and Papa Johns [2]. - Mid-sized chains have improved their overall satisfaction scores by 9.9 percentage points for delivery service compared to the previous year, indicating a shift in competitive dynamics within the pizza industry [3]. Key Findings - Quality is becoming the decisive factor for customer satisfaction, overshadowing speed, as evidenced by the significant impact of food temperature on satisfaction scores [4]. - Large chains experienced a notable decline in staff attentiveness, with a 15.1 percentage point drop year-over-year [7]. - The study revealed that 25% of delivery orders were fulfilled by third-party services, which posed quality control challenges, particularly with 64% of these orders lacking insulated delivery bags [7]. - The average delivery time for mid-sized chains was 5 minutes and 31 seconds longer than that of large chains, leading to a decrease in food temperature scores from 100% to 74% when insulated bags were not used [7]. - Automation in ordering is increasing, with fully automated calls rising from 9% to 14% year-over-year, although this has resulted in a 5.7 percentage point decrease in overall satisfaction compared to interactions with live employees [7].