(NAPSI)—In the U.S., 74 percent of people order carryout or delivery pizza at least once a month. However, many people don't realize that ordering carryout or delivery pizza may be compromising the moods of themselves and those around them.

The Social Experiment

In an effort to determine which pizza makes for happier gatherings—delivery or fresh—baked from the oven-a social experiment used facial recognition software to measure the effect on the moods of partygoers.

At a series of six pizza parties, the room was set up with more than 20 high-resolution hidden cameras to capture footage of guests while DIGIORNO® pizza baked in the oven and when delivery was ordered from national chains. The footage was later analyzed to identify patterns in emotion, such as smiles and frown lines, determining which pizza generated a more positive result.

The Results

There was more joy observed at pizza parties when pizza was baking in the oven than at those that ordered carryout or delivery.

That may explain why nearly 80 percent of all online posts about carryout and delivery pizza last year were not positive*. That's hundreds of thousands of pizza mishaps reflecting poor service, late arrival, cold pizza and wrong toppings from national chains.

The Reasons

Since DIGIORNO pizza is fresh-baked from the oven it doesn't encounter the same issues as delivery. At the parties that baked up the pizza, joy increased by an average of 27 percent. In comparison, at parties that ordered delivery, joy decreased by an average of 20 percent—and when delivery pizza was ordered by phone or online, it made partygoers 24 percent less joyful.

Plus, the social experiment showed that partygoers were 17 percent more joyful when the smell of pizza filled the room and the oven timer rang. The arrival of delivery pizza at the door couldn't compete as average joy increased only 2 percent.

Learn More

For further information, visit www.digiorno.com/powerofpizza. To watch the experiment, go to www.youtube.com/digiorno.

*Crimson Hexagon, based on search query "pizza AND delivery" for public social media posts Jan − Oct. 2017

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On the Net:North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.(NAPSI)