aggregation or aggregate

The service of pulling together specific kinds of information on behalf of a business or consumer. For example, an online financial services aggregator enables a user to see all of his or her financial balances and activities (including loans, investments, banking, and insurance) on one Web site-even though the accounts may be held in many firms.

The B2B sector typically aggregates buyers and sellers, and the more effective a company is at aggregation, the more likely the hub will reach critical mass. This term can also refer to an online auction business model, in which a Web site aggregates (or gathers) the buying power of as many consumers and businesses as possible, to achieve the best prices. For example, the more bidders there are, the higher the volume and, therefore, the lower the price of an item.