Zalando makes Connected Retail deal more affordable to support physical stores

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 31, 2020

Zalando has announced an expansion of its Connected Retail program to help physical shops continue their businesses during the coronavirus crisis. 

As long as they’re offering products that Zalando sells, the stores will be able to sell their goods online via the platform and the company is now making it more affordable for them to do this.

“As a European fashion platform, we want to use our capabilities and resources to help solve the most urgent challenges during this crisis,” said VP of Direct to Consumer Carsten Keller. “With the Connected Retail program, physical retailers can connect with the Zalando platform and sell their products directly to our online customers. Currently, more than 1,500 brick-and-mortar stores in Germany and the Netherlands are connected to our platform, where they generate a relevant share of their revenue. Due to the urgency of the situation for many, we have accelerated our efforts to help physical stores: we’re waiving commission and shifting to a weekly pay-out schedule.”

The new set-up applies to brands and physical retailers in Germany and the Netherlands from April 1 and remains valid until May 31. 

Once a brand or store is set up in the program, stores can fulfil orders that Zalando customers place on the platform. Carriers (DHL in Germany, PostNL in the Netherlands) pick up orders directly from the specific store and returns are delivered straight back to the store.

Of course, with stores being closed, there are complications there, although the company seems to think these can be overcome. A number of businesses globally are still running their web operations with workers entering stores and able to maintain social distancing due to not having to directly meet customers and due to there being very few workers in the store locations.

“Connected Retail is a comparably young business and still in the ramp-up phase,” Keller added. “Flaws may emerge in the coming weeks, but we recognise the importance of acting quickly. We want to offer physical retailers access to online demand now. Our team will continue to work closely with our partners to manage any friction points as smoothly and cooperatively as possible. We are in this together.”

Before the crisis, figures from Statista showed that 87% of sales were still made offline in Europe.