Food delivery aggregator vs 1P and 3P
A food delivery aggregator is an app or website that lists many restaurants and shops in one place, takes the order and the payment and passes it to the venue, usually for a commission; the platform may deliver it too. For a restaurant that is third-party (3P) delivery, and ordering through its own app or website is first-party (1P). In retail eCommerce, 1P and 3P mean something else: whether the platform buys and resells the stock (1P) or lets other sellers list it (3P).
The trusted intelligence layer for teams selling to Hospitality & Retail
Three meanings of aggregator
| Meaning | What it is | Who says it |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery marketplace | A consumer app listing many restaurants and shops, taking orders and payment | Press, investors, brand teams, India and Southeast Asia in everyday use |
| Order aggregator | Software in the restaurant that collects orders from several apps into one screen or POS | Restaurant operators, POS-system vendors |
| Data aggregator | A company that combines data from many sources | Market researchers, data buyers |
The first meaning is the one on this page. When a restaurant owner says "we use an aggregator", ask which of the first two they mean.
1P and 3P mean different things in restaurants and retail
| Restaurant delivery | Retail and quick commerce | |
|---|---|---|
| 1P (first party) | Ordered through the restaurant's own app or website | The platform buys the stock and sells it itself, for example from its own dark store |
| 3P (third party) | Ordered through a delivery app that lists many restaurants | Independent sellers, such as a supermarket or corner shop, list on the platform |
| Who sets the price and range | 1P: the restaurant; 3P: the restaurant, inside the app's rules | 1P: the platform; 3P: the seller |
On a quick commerce app both can sit side by side: the app's own dark store (1P retail) next to a convenience store listed on it (3P marketplace).
Who means what by role
| Role | What aggregator, 1P or 3P means to them |
|---|---|
| eCommerce manager at a brand | Aggregators are the delivery shelf; a chain's own app is a separate 1P channel to track |
| Field sales rep | A listing on an aggregator is evidence that a venue does delivery, and so needs delivery packs |
| Category manager | 1P vs 3P on grocery and quick commerce apps: who to negotiate the range with |
| Distributor | Delivery apps as a sales channel of its customers |
| POS-system vendor | Order aggregator: the integration layer between apps and the POS |
| Market researcher | Platform share, storefront counts and order value by app |
Common confusions
- Marketplace vs delivery. Some apps let a restaurant use its own couriers (often called marketplace or own-delivery orders) while others deliver with the platform's couriers. Both are 3P for the restaurant.
- US shorthand. "3PD" means third-party delivery in US restaurant trade press.
- Super apps. In parts of Asia and the Middle East one app carries food, groceries, rides and payments, so "aggregator" covers far more than restaurants.
How Dashmote tracks it
Restaurant and shop listings cover 100+ platforms in 60+ countries, and restaurants' own ordering channels where they run one (first-party delivery tracking). Each listing is a storefront linked to its venue, so a brand can see the same restaurant on several aggregators and on its own app without counting it twice.
Worked example illustrative
One burger restaurant.
- Listed on 2 aggregators: 2 storefronts, both 3P.
- Runs its own ordering website: 1 first-party channel.
- Uses an order aggregator tablet that feeds both apps into its POS: no extra listing, it is software.
For a drinks brand that is 1 venue, 3 places a guest can order, and 2 storefronts to check for the brand on the menu.
Frequently asked questions
What does the term food aggregator mean?
A food aggregator is a platform that brings many restaurants together in one app or website, where guests browse, order and pay, and the platform passes the order to the restaurant.
What is an aggregator in simple terms?
An aggregator collects many offers from different businesses in one place, so the customer can compare and order without visiting each business separately.
What is the difference between 3P and 1P?
In restaurant delivery, 1P is ordering through the restaurant's own channel and 3P through a delivery app that lists many restaurants. In retail eCommerce, 1P means the platform sells stock it owns and 3P means other sellers list on it.