METRO to extend digital offering for restaurateurs on its DISH platform

● Since DISH’s launch about 2 years ago, METRO has digitalised more than 200,000 restaurateurs in 16 countries through its online platform DISH (Digital Innovations and Solutions for Hospitality) and is the global market leader for digital solutions in the hospitality sector
● Starting from 1 October 2020, the company will extend its offering with 2 subscription models – matching the restaurateurs’ needs
● Except a one-time activation fee, the Starter subscription package covers the essential digital services free of charge, while the Professional subscription offers a wider range of digital tools for €34.90 per month which is 50% lower than comparable competitors’ offers
● DISH customers shop twice as frequently at METRO and their annual shopping cart value is around €7,000 higher

In 2018, Hospitality Digital, the digital division of METRO AG, launched the online platform DISH. The goal: drive the digitalisation of HoReCa sector (hotels, restaurants, caterers) with a range of digital solutions and services. The digital applications that have since been developed in cooperation with customers from the hospitality sector throughout Europe demonstrably boost the efficiency of restaurant businesses and ensure an effective online presence of cafés, bars, and restaurants. Now, DISH is bundling a large number of digital tools in a Professional subscription package for €34.90/month. The basic applications in the Starter subscription remain free of charge.

Today, METRO is the global market leader for digital solutions in the hospitality sector and continually developing new applications. More than 200,000 restaurateurs in 16 countries are meanwhile using the digital tools that facilitate their business processes, create visibility on the internet or support the evaluation of key performance indicators, inter alia. “New technologies and the smart use of data assist the hospitality industry. One of the main obstacles to digitalisation remains the enormous fragmentation of the hospitality sector which makes it difficult to offer new solutions at acceptable costs. That is why, together with our partners and our customers, we developed affordable digital solutions that support the restaurateurs along the complete value chain of their business,” says Dr. Volker Glaeser, CEO of Hospitality Digital.

Individual tools and services for the entire hospitality sector have already been available free of charge on the online platform DISH since 2018. Starting from 1 October 2020, METRO is bundling these different digital solutions into 2 subscription packages: The Starter and the Professional subscription. “With the exception of a one-time setup fee, the Starter subscription is free of charge and includes the most important digital tools, including the reservation tool and the website. In addition, it also includes our personal consulting services for those who want to take their first steps towards digitalisation. With the Professional subscription package, we are offering a further extended range of tools for restaurateurs including, for example, the integration of multi-lingual artificial intelligence (AI) to create multi-lingual websites for better findability on the Internet or a graphic table plan that facilitates reservation planning. We developed this graphic table plan tool as our customers have expressly requested it,” explains Volker Glaeser. In future, the DISH offering ranges from free in-house solutions for menu planning or the design of a website all the way to partner solutions for topics such as manpower planning or social media.

Existing and new users will get the first 2 months of the Professional subscription package for free. After that, users in Germany will pay a subscription fee of €34.90/month plus a one-time activation fee of €49. Starting from 1 December 2020, users of the Starter subscription package will be subject to a one-time activation fee of €69. Switching between 2 subscription packages is possible on a monthly basis. Additional tools can be booked as add-on solutions for both subscription packages, like Web Listing Premium, i.e. a service that increases a restaurant’s presence on internet platforms.

“With this product range, we are offering services at a price that is up to 50% lower than that of the competition. Some providers already charge as much as €29/month for the use of a reservation tool alone. Our packages include a variety of digital solutions. With our digital offering we are increasing customer loyalty, both digital and offline. This approach is well worth the effort: We are seeing larger shopping carts and a higher shopping frequency with customers using our DISH offering,” says Glaeser. On average, the annual shopping cart value of DISH customers in Europe is around €7,000 higher than that of METRO customers who do not use any DISH tools. Moreover, DISH customers shop twice as frequently at METRO.

The extension of our offering by these 2 subscription plans will in a first phase start in the Eurozone countries. Non-eurozone countries will follow in mid-November, so that subscriptions will be offered in 16 countries by the end of the year. Hospitality Digital is currently working on additional solutions to respond to the changing needs of independent restaurateurs. Users and interested restaurateurs can find all information at www.dish.co.

Hospitality Digital was established in 2015 and actively contributes to the digitalisation of the hospitality sector. An international team of experts implements a variety of digital solutions and innovations for hotels, restaurants, caterers, and trader businesses. To this effect, the company relies on self-developed solutions as well as on solutions from start-ups promoted in the framework of the METRO Xcel programmes, and on solutions from other partners. These digital solutions reach small and medium-sized restaurants, hotels, and catering businesses through the sales channels of the METRO/MAKRO countries. In addition, the company invests into start-ups from the fields of hospitality tech, retail tech, food tech and food innovation and monitors the trends in the hospitality industry. Hospitality Digital is a wholly owned subsidiary of METRO. For more information, please visit www.hd.digital.