A 3-location fast-casual chain in Dubai doing AED 100,000/month in delivery GMV pays AED 20,000-30,000/month in aggregator commissions. That's 20-30% of every order, every month.
But the commission isn't the real cost. The real cost is invisible.
You're paying to not know your customers
Every order through a delivery app generates data, what was ordered, when, how often, average ticket size, reorder patterns. That data belongs to the aggregator. They use it to optimize their marketplace. You get the food order and nothing else.
Over months and years, the aggregator builds a complete picture of your customer base. You build nothing. You're paying 25% of revenue for the privilege of remaining blind to who your customers are.
The dependency deepens
The longer you operate through aggregators without building a direct channel, the harder it becomes to leave. Your "customers" are actually the platform's customers. They came through the app, they reorder through the app, they have no relationship with your brand outside the app.
This isn't theoretical. It's the operating reality of most fast-casual brands in Dubai today.
Building the direct channel
The answer isn't to leave aggregators entirely, they drive discovery. The answer is to build a parallel direct channel that converts aggregator customers into your customers. A branded engagement layer that gives customers a reason to come to you directly, and gives you the intelligence to keep them coming back.
At AED 2,500-4,000/month, a customer engagement platform costs a fraction of what you're paying in aggregator commissions, and it builds the asset that commissions never will: a direct relationship with the people who keep your business alive.