eCommerce Aggregator: What is it and How to Develop it?

If you struggle to sell services or goods in a tightly packed niche, why not sell them along with close competitors under one umbrella? Sounds controversial, yet this is what the online eCommerce aggregator concept is about. This article reveals such a platform’s peculiarities and describes custom eCommerce development in that sphere. 

What is an Aggregator in eСommerce?

The aggregator creates a partnership and signs a contract with the chosen businesses so that a consolidated offering operates under one brand. 

Aggregators earn profit by attracting more customers to use their platform to access those services under standardized pricing. Usually, they include domain expertise in business infrastructure and marketing aspects. And when partners get their customers, the aggregator platform earns commissions from the sale of their goods and services.

How does aggregator business model work? In most cases, the partners quote a minimum price for their products. The aggregator then quotes the final price to the end-user on the platform. As a result, end-users have a large selection of quality offers in one place and can quickly navigate to a product at the best price:

What is the Value for Each Party?

1. For buyers or end-users.
   There is simply no way without aggregators in some areas because there are too many similar products on the market and a person cannot independently collect and analyze offers. Take, for example, numerous offers for babysitting, tutoring, carrier services, taxis, and so on. Therefore, a user has to choose between similar offers and compare prices, ratings, and reviews. 
   
   Instead, they can rely on a convenient service that has already done the dirty work and consolidated relevant offerings at reasonable prices. The interface is familiar and understandable, and the aggregator site is responsible for the primary selection of quality, which is rather convenient on the end-user’s side.
   
2. For partners.
   Since business partners provide goods and services under a unified brand, they don’t have to invest in marketing and business development. Instead, they delegate this task to the eCommerce aggregator, which has more relevant traffic and paying customers than a single online store. First, it puts enormous sums of money into the promotion of its brand. Second, eCommerce aggregators have always been beloved platforms among search engines. 
   
   In theory, creating an eCommerce aggregator in any niche is possible since this business model attracts target customers and converts them. However, popular areas are more likely to attract investment capital and succeed in the market.

Popular Industries for Aggregators

Food Delivery Aggregators

This type of business focuses on the on-demand delivery of meals from different restaurants. In short, a customer can place an order for the desired meal and save time on searching for the best offer. An aggregator, in turn, acts as an intermediary between a consumer and a restaurant, enabling users to compare prices, reviews, and meals on a single platform. 

How do food aggregators work? The website or app collects the received orders and matches them with pre-organized service providers. Thus, food delivery aggregators need to support two user roles: consumers and restaurants. Most aggregators can display a local restaurant to users in their area and take commissions for each order that passes through their system.

Some of the biggest food delivery aggregators have earned recognition worldwide and expanded their offers to other countries and continents. Among them are GrubHub, Zomato, FoodPanda, Just Eat, Doordash, etc.

Grubhub is a renowned mention in the list of top food aggregators for a good reason. It partners with over 30,000 restaurants in more than 4,000 cities in the USA and Canada. The platform has completed over 300 million orders and generated $2.1 billion in revenue in 2021. 

Grubhub explores the eCommerce aggregator business model by providing a Grubhub Direct platform for small and independent restaurants. Its users can access a wealth of custom features to promote their brand online, analyze customer behavior, and build a loyal fanbase of diners. 

Zomato operates in 3,200 cities in 24 countries of the world with a user base of 90 million active users. Founded in India, it has grown into an international food delivery aggregator that earned $663 million in 2022.

Just Eat Takeaway features a catalog of 680,000 partner restaurants with the majority based in Western Europe, Canada, and Brazil. More than 65 million diners registered with Just Eat Takeaway in 2021, mostly from the United Kingdom and Germany.

Hotel Aggregators

Hotel aggregators partner with different hoteliers to access their properties and manage their operational and marketing aspects. They introduce a standardized set of offerings for customers, which helps to streamline the flow of bookings and ensure fixed monthly revenue for property owners. Such platforms encompass guest and landlord features, as well as an admin panel with apartment management modules. 

Here are the major players in the niche:

• Agoda. Agoda started its way in Thailand in 2005 and established its headquarters in Singapore later. Similarly to any other successful Asian-founded aggregator in eCommerce, Agoda maintains a strong presence in the region but has also expanded to other territories. It currently lists 2.9 million properties in almost every part of the globe and develops other lines of business, including flight booking and airport transfers.
• OYO. OYO ( ‘On Your Own’) is an India-based hotel booking aggregator that was founded in 2013. It is present in 800 cities in over 80 countries of the world. OYO’s app boasts over 100 million downloads, and its daily user base comprises 300,000 customers. 
• Airbnb. Airbnb hosted 400 guests in the first year of its existence. Now, after 10 years, it features 5.6 million active listings in over 220 countries. It caters to 150 million users who have booked over 1 billion stays in all accommodations, including igloos, castles, and even furnished caves.

Shipping Aggregators for eCom Stores

eCommerce aggregator meaning for online brands is hard to underestimate. For instance, shipping aggregators provide a place for online sellers to tie up with numerous courier partners for immediate needs. Whether it is an abrupt spike in Cyber Monday sales or the urge to reduce transportation costs, a shipping aggregator eCommerce platform can serve those needs and provide the convenience and efficiency of tech-enabled services.

An eCommerce aggregator website and a shipping aggregator platform make a perfect match. Solutions like Shiprocket, Shippo, and Pickrr provide online businesses quick access to local shipping companies and assist them in selecting the most affordable pricing for courier services.

Shiprocket is one of the most renowned players in the industry, with the cheapest rates. It serves over 20,000 clients from 200+ countries and lists eight shipping partners on their platform. What is an eCommerce aggregator’s approach to shipping management? It aggregates multiple logistics providers and uses technology to deliver the most optimal rates for online businesses. It provides a comprehensive dashboard with detailed tracking information for vendors and end-consumers. As one of the most renowned players in the industry with the cheapest rates, Shiprocket serves clients in 200+ countries.

Shippo’s story began in 2013 in San Francisco. Over time, the company has grown to almost 200 employees and over 100,000 customers. It serves 35,000 brands, over 20 national shipping partners, and several international delivery carriers.

Pickrr is an India-based shipping aggregator platform that was founded in 2015. It ships products in 220 countries outside India as well. Pickrr is powered by advanced features, including AI and ML capabilities, integrations, first-mile delivery, and WMS capabilities and services over 29,000 pin codes.

Taxi Booking Aggregators

These platforms provide on-demand taxi services for passengers by aggregating private drivers, individual entrepreneurs, or taxi operators. When a user creates an order, the system helps find the most optimal route and a suitable cab, track its movement, and charge for the service, excluding the driver’s commission. 

A taxi aggregator like Uber or Lyft consists of panels for drivers, passengers, and administrators. These industry leaders also provide advanced features such as multiple payment gateways or in-app analytics.

What proves that taxi aggregators like Uber or Lyft are now ahead of the pack?
Uber’s drivers have completed over 6 billion rides for more than 120 million users. People can request an Uber ride in almost 1,000 cities in 65+ countries worldwide. Lyft operates in 600+ US and 12 Canadian cities and has more than two million drivers. The number of its active users is almost 20 million in 2022.

However, these are two different platforms that have distinct borderline. So, without further ado, let’s clear up their standard features and differences.

Aggregator vs. Marketplace: What Unites them?

• Both the platforms bring together buyers and sellers in a familiar environment and facilitate transactions between them.  
• They share no responsibility for the production phase of business offerings. Neither do they have any manufacturing structure or warehouse.
• The area of responsibility lies in sales, marketing, and customer experience.

Marketplace Model vs Aggregator Model:
What Sets Them Apart?

• Brand.
  As we already mentioned, aggregators accumulate a portfolio of small businesses or individuals selling various goods or services and unite them under a common name. In this case, the aggregator is responsible for brand-building and business development. Think about Airbnb for hotels or Uber for taxis. These eCom aggregators amalgamate plenty of business providers and put only their name in the offering.
  
  While with marketplaces, products and services are represented under multiple brands, which don’t belong to the marketplace. For example, Amazon has a powerful brand, yet multiple businesses can sell their items with their name.

• Partnership model.
  An aggregator in eCommerce provides a setup where each partner has the freedom and flexibility to accept or reject a service offer. Moreover, these businesses don’t get employed by the aggregator’s company. Instead, they sign a contract that defines the terms of their cooperation, commission, quality requirements, etc.
  
  A marketplace serves as a middleman between buyers and sellers, which earns a commission for each transaction on the platform. Its partnership model presupposes that each of multiple businesses is responsible for the quality and fulfillment of the products or services.

• Quality.
  Aggregators strive to remove quality gaps from their offering as they need to establish trust with their brand. Therefore, they usually invest in proper quality assurance and have dedicated teams focused on maintaining a standardized product portfolio. 
  
  The quality of similar products or services may vary with a marketplace since it is not the area of its responsibility. Each vendor on the platform needs to satisfy the terms and conditions of their offering and ensure its quality.

• Pricing.
  It is unusual to expect large gaps in price ranges when browsing through eCommerce aggregators. Like with quality, these platforms strive to achieve equal values throughout their offering. Such terms are strictly defined prior to signing a contract between the two parties.
  
  By this point, you’ve probably guessed that marketplaces offer a wide price range for their products. Different sellers put a different number in a price tag as they have more freedom under the contract.

We’ve put a list of the above differences for a quick reference below:

Now let’s put the aggregator vs. marketplace battle aside and focus on the primary area of our interest. That is, getting to know how to create an eCommerce aggregator and which functionality to include in the offering. If you are looking to get the ball rolling and want to enter the market, you need to know the prospective solution’s architecture and features. Let's study it on the example of a taxi aggregator platform.

Thanks to taxi booking apps like Uber, it’s become easier to create an aggregator app since the company disclosed its API to the developer community. As an experienced eCommerce development company, Geomotiv can create software that can fully correspond to your requirements and streamline your time-to-market.

Key Features of a Taxi Booking App

Although each project is unique and has specific requirements, certain components should be included in the solution by default. Here’s what we can fit, based on the prospective solution.

Passenger Panel:

• Register or Login
• Home Screen
• Driver Rating
• Payment
• Push Notifications and Messaging
• Ride History
• Real-Time Map Plotting
• Schedule Ride

Driver Panel:

• Driver Status and profile
• Ride Alert
• Navigation
• Reports

Admin Panel:

• Dashboard
• Payroll
• Driver management
• Partner management
• Vehicle management
• App settings

Advanced features:

Now that you know what features to add to an online eСommerce aggregator for booking taxis, it is time to discuss its typical cost breakdown. It may vary depending on the functionality, development timeline, and team size required to complete the project.

The Cost to Develop an eCommerce Aggregator

First of all, it is vital to define which feature set is included in the software. Its complexity will have an impact on the time required to complete the development:

Here’s what services will be included in the price for developing an eCommerce aggregator:

• Business analysis. Our BA collects all requirements and works out a detailed project specification. Based on the collected data, our specialist makes a total project estimate.

• UI/UX design. At this stage, our UI/UX designers make wireframes screen-by-screen and create their mockups. 

• Development. Our developers transform the mockups into applications including mobile app development (Android, iOS, or both), app back-end development, and admin panel development.

• QA engineering. Our QA engineers ensure that the software works as intended and meets tech specification requirements. 

• Project Management. Our specialist is responsible for managing schedules and resources to complete the project on time and within budget.

• Maintenance. In most cases, the cooperation doesn’t end on the project’s completion. Our team can support the solution by adding new features and maintain the product based on the feedback.

Takeaways

If you want to start an eCommerce business and make a disruption, consider building an aggregator website or application. It works best at drawing a large consumer base to an easy-to-use, user-friendly, and convenient shopping venue with a vast range of product and service options. 

However, it is hard to imagine launching an eCommerce aggregator without an experienced eCom development partner like Geomotiv. We can help build a scalable and high-performing aggregator platform from scratch and add custom features tailored to your requirements. Our team will be glad to answer any questions concerning your future SaaS e-commerce aggregator - just contact us to learn more.

FAQ

What is the difference between eCommerce accelerator and aggregator?

Both accelerators and aggregators cooperate with brands and help them expand their businesses. However, their approaches are different. Accelerators provide networking opportunities, resources, experience, and mentorship to e-commerce brands. And an aggregator unites businesses under its brand and places their offers.

What is the difference between eCommerce platform and aggregator?

While eCommerce platforms often act as intermediaries between customers and brands, aggregators take all the responsibilities related to the interaction with buyers. Moreover, while different businesses can use their own brands on eCommerce marketplaces, aggregators always place offers under a single brand.

What is an example of an aggregator?

The group of top e-commerce aggregators includes several categories of platforms. There are accommodation aggregators like Airbnb, OYO, and Agoda, food delivery aggregators like Grubhub and Zomato, and taxi aggregators like Lyft and Uber.

What does an online aggregator do?

An aggregator helps to establish connections between buyers and sellers on a single platform and conduct transactions. Though sellers offer their products or services under the aggregator’s brand, the platform doesn’t bear responsibility for the production. However, aggregators are fully responsible for user experience, marketing, and sales.

What is aggregator model in e-commerce?

The aggregator model in e commerce presupposes that a single web or mobile platform unites numerous offers from multiple businesses and allows users to buy them in one place. After entering into a partnership with such a platform their offers will be presented under the brand of an aggregator.