Selling on Zalando

What is Zalando

Zalando is one of the most established and popular fashion e-commerce platforms. It was founded in 2008 as an online shoe retailer. Today it is the No. 1 fashion marketplace in Europe. The German domain zalando.de is the 18th most visited online fashion retailer in the world.

Zalando boasts millions of members and is home to thousands of clothing, accessories, footwear and cosmetics brands. The Designer section encompasses luxury brands, including Just Cavalli, Versace Jeans Couture, Emporio Armani, and Michael Kors.

In 2010, it launched a section dedicated to private sales: Zalando Privé (Lounge, in some countries), with time-based promotions with discounts of up to 75%.

Why sell on Zalando

The German marketplace is a strategic sales channel for at least 6 reasons:

1. It is a popular shopping site

Zalando has a high number of registered users and, in the countries where it is most present, records about 12.4 million monthly web visits. It therefore represents a must-have global showcase for all fashion and lifestyle brands.

2. It is not necessary to offer steep discounts

Unlike other platforms, selling on Zalando does not require engaging in a “price war.”

You can also sell products from the current season at the same price point as other sales channels.

3. Offers free return within 100 days

The ability to return an order easily and in such a large time frame helps reduce the friction to purchase.

4. Zalando knows users very well

Thanks to its complex artificial intelligence algorithms, the marketplace offers content that reflects the individual person’s tastes and preferences.

Recent data show that the average Zalando shopping cart value increases by 40 percent when the platform provides suggestions and recommendations on products of potential interest.

5. Extreme attention to detail and content

The look and feel of the site is designed for fashion brands. The neat, clean graphics and consistent, quality images help create pleasant and smooth browsing experiences.

In fact, to sell on Zalando, one must meet very strict publishing standards (compared to other marketplaces).

6. It is an increasingly sustainability-oriented channel

With its do.More strategy, Zalando is focusing heavily on sustainability. There are thousands of products with the tag “sustainable” on the marketplace.

By 2023, Zalando will cut off all brands that do not meet precise ethical and sustainable standards from the platform.

Presiding over a platform that is attentive to human rights and environmental protection can also benefit the image of the brands within it, due to a halo effect.

Four out of 10 Zalando customers buy sustainable products, and their number has more than doubled since the early 2020s.

How to sell on Zalando

Brands/resellers can opt for three different sales strategies:

1. Sell part of the products to Zalando (as if it were a traditional retailer); therefore, it is Zalando that handles all stages of the sale.
2. Selling through Zalando as a Partner. In this case Zalando is precisely a marketplace through which to reach end users. All stages of the sale are the responsibility of the partner (catalog creation, shipping, customer service, etc.). Zalando recently stated that by 2023 the Partner Program will be the main business model. To sign up as a partner, an application should be sent to partnerprogram@zalando.it
3. Rely on a Specialized Partner who already holds the right resources, technologies, skills, and logistical organization.

To support traditional retailers struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic, Zalando has also launched a fourth sales mode: the Connected Retail. With this program, physical retailers (large and small) can sell online on Zalando.

To join, one must have a physical store, an inventory management system, and items with registered codes.
Once an order is received, preparation and shipment of the package is the responsibility of the retailer.

The initiative was launched in Germany and the Netherlands and then expanded to other European countries. Today many European stores sell online on Zalando.

What to sell on Zalando

Zalando is a sales channel focused on fashion, beauty and lifestyle. The marketplace also hosts special collections (capsules) or items produced exclusively for this channel.

The German platform has a second hand section, where users can buy and sell used garments.

Zalando Privé/Lounge also features the home & design category.

How much does it cost to sell on Zalando

The seller is required to pay commissions that vary by commodity category and product.

For some merchandise categories, selling on Zalando may be less expensive than on Amazon.

This is the case for footwear with a price below 49€: on Amazon the commissions amount to 15%, on Zalando, on the other hand, they represent 5% of the total price.

Shipping and returns on Zalando

Shipping is entirely the responsibility of the brand/reseller. For orders of 24.90 euros and above, the customer is entitled to free delivery (guaranteed within 3-5 business days). Buyers can return an order free of charge within 100 days of product delivery.

Zalando Partners have the opportunity to lean on the marketplace’s logistics infrastructure-Zalando Fulfillment Solutions (ZFS).

How to promote products on Zalando

To increase visibility, brand awareness, and sales, Zalando supports brands and partners by working out tailor-made promotion strategies with them. The unit dedicated to marketing is called ZMS (Zalando Marketing Services). Unlike Amazon, it is not possible to activate campaigns in self-service mode.

Advertising activities can take advantage of one or more of the following formats:

• Homepage Teaser, a creative that is shown in the first or second position of the home page.
• Engagement Teaser, image or video placed on the home page, ideal for a story-telling narrative.
• Category Ad, an image linked to a specific category, ideal for generating awareness and engagement.
• Countdown Teaser, a countdown to generate popularity on new or special products.
• In-catalogue Teaser, an image that appears while browsing within a category.
• Co-curated products, a solution to push products to the top of the search page.
• Newsletter Teaser, a creative promoted through a newsletter campaign in more than 14 European markets

In mobile navigation, however, there are:

• Video
• Product Carousels
• Brand Carousels

Zalando then has a platform dedicated to collaborations with influencers, which is called Collabary by Zalando.