“The Grubhub partnership has been great,” Radley says. “As of now, we’re still in the pilot phase and don’t plan to expand to any other third-party delivery systems.”

Other tests and innovations are expanding, though. During Yum!’s most recent earnings call, leaders credited Pizza Hut’s two-year-old Hut Rewards loyalty program and new value menu with helping to drive an uptick in transactions. Hut Rewards was revamped in October 2018 to allow for points accumulation across all ordering platforms—online, phone, and in store. Pizza Hut also used the platform to tie into its multiyear marketing deal with the NFL by offering a Hut Rewards member-only discount on NFLShop.com Super Bowl LIII merchandise. The initial success of Pizza Hut’s $5 value-menu, launched fall 2018, led the way for an extended $5 ‘N Up Line Up menu. As of July 2019, Pizza Hut is offering up eight menu items at $5 each, including desserts, sides, and beverages.

The change also allowed franchisees to address local economic factors, particularly in higher wage markets, by offering the same items at more flexible price points.

Additionally, on the menu side, the brand updated its Original Pan Pizza for the first time in 40 years, replacing the sauce, cheese blend and baking pan in hopes of delivering a crispier crust. And, beer delivery to 300 locations across seven states continues.

“The combo of cold beer and pizza is an absolute no-brainer, and the response from customers so far is affirmation,” Radley says. “As the only pizza delivery company that can offer this, we’ll continue to lead the charge and are focused on expanding the beer delivery program.”

Pizza Hut categorizes such moves as a “holistic approach to creating a customer experience that no one else can provide like Pizza Hut.” What Pizza Hut is not doing, Radley says, is abandoning dine-in all together.

“We’re simply giving our customers what they want,” Radley says.  “... We know some of them look forward to sitting down in our restaurants and enjoying their pizza under the red roof. But we also know that many prefer the convenience of delivery or carrying out.” 

Pizza Hut is betting on delivery in its international markets, too. China and the U.K. remain two of its most robust dine-in markets, yet the company is enhancing off-premises options there as well. Seventy percent of European orders come in online or via app.

“As consumer preferences continue shifting, we’re constantly looking for ways to offer the best experience possible and strike a balance between dine-in, delivery and carryout,” Radley says. “We’ll never become complacent when it comes to the pizza-eating experience—regardless of how people prefer to dine with us.”

Radley has worked to build the newly formed consumer analytics and performance marketing teams at Pizza Hut. Knowledge from these teams are being used to not only inform operations, but also guide Pizza Hut’s anticipated $227 million ad spend. Austin-based GSD&M, the brand’s seventh agency in eight years, is leading that work.

“We’ve been working with GSD&M for a little over a year and are really excited about the partnership,” Radley says. “We’re all about being RED—relevant, easy, and distinct—and that approach is at the heart of the brief.”

Still it remains to be seen whether such moves are enough to put Pizza Hut back in the No. 1 spot. Worldwide sales grew 10 percent in the second quarter, primarily boosted by Pizza Hut’s alliance with Telepizza Group, the largest non-U.S. pizza delivery company worldwide. That deal doubled Pizza Hut’s footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean. Terms also include another 1,000-plus new Telepizza stores to open over the next 10 years in Spain, Portugal, Latin America (excluding Brazil), the Caribbean and Switzerland.

On the domestic front, however, Pizza Hut saw a 4 percent increase in system sales and a 2 percent increase in same-store comps in the second quarter. At that rate, the chain is looking at an overall increase of 1 percent in domestic sales for the year. Transactions upped 3 percent in Q2, which Yum! CEO Greg Creed credited to “the result of continued compelling value, ops execution, and our growing loyalty program, Hut Rewards.”

Radley remains optimistic, though.

“We are America’s original pizza company, and we’re just as committed as we’ve always been to pushing the pizza category forward without forgetting where we’ve come from,” she says.