It’s clear that retailers are turning to leading e-commerce platforms like Germany’s Zalando for AI inspiration. At the Fashion Talks in Antwerp on June 4th, Laura Toledano, General Manager for Western Europe, spoke about the company’s strategy. The German group was also a sponsor of the event.
This year the Fashion Talks took place in the five-star Hotel Botanic Sanctuary. To an audience of fashion entrepreneurs and fans, Toledano outlined how Zalando, with over 60 million European customers, has changed course. The focus is becoming less and less on the product and more on what she calls social commerce.
Gen Z comes to inspiration
“Only a third of our website visitors have a concrete idea of what he or she wants to buy. They come to inspiration.” This applies to 86 percent of visitors. For Gen Z it is 96 percent, i.e. almost everyone.
So Zalando is no longer on the safe side because of its wide range – you can choose from over 7,000 brands – and fast delivery. The company must prevent Zalando from becoming purely a search tool, especially for young buyers. They would then leave the shop and continue searching on Vinted.
Toledano argues that you can retain these consumers for longer by surprising them. The question is how to organize this on a large scale. Your answer: with 60 million versions of an app. “We read every customer’s signals to personalize the experience. If I asked everyone in this room to open Zalando, they would all see a different interface.”
AI tools
Zalando develops AI-supported functions for this purpose. This includes a personalized feed of videos, influencer and brand content, an AI assistant, mood boards that customers can put together in their account, and clothing size advice. The latter also has a financial reason, as more than a third of returns are due to a poor fit.
“We obviously look at customer signals first – what they put in their cart, what they add to their wishlist, what they click on – but we always add a discovery component.” This is human work, she emphasizes. At Zalando, a team of stylists and data analysts refines the algorithms manually. This means: Even if a user has a clear search query, other trends and emerging brands are always displayed.
What can a smaller fashion company do with a small AI budget? Toledano advises tackling operational tasks first so as not to waste time and money on unnecessary activities. After that, the focus should be on a good, personalized experience in the CRM, social media and online experience. This experience must be consistent and relevant for all customers.
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