Connected Retail by Zalando: The Incremental Assortment Opportunity

Connected Retail by Zalando opens up many opportunities for all kinds of retailers – from small local brands or retailers to large department stores or direct-to-consumer brands. Aside from the obvious potential to boost selling digitally to millions of Zalando customers, there are some additional benefits – like incremental assortment and how all stakeholders profit from it.

What is incremental assortment? 

When Zalando started with its Connected Retail program, participating retailers could only onboard an assortment that was already existing on Zalando. This meant that brands and styles that were already part of Zalando’s assortment became more readily available, 

Now, more and more partners are joining with only unique assortments, especially private labels and local brands. Connected Retail offers retailers a chance to add additional articles and new brands to the platform that were not previously listed on Zalando’s website. Through this opportunity, new brands and local retailers can increase their sales and name recognition far beyond their city or client base. Adding local brands and new styles expands the offer on Zalando’s platform, thus making it even more attractive for customers to browse and discover the Fashion Store.

Selling to millions of potential new customers

One example: German jewelry brand LOLA who joined Connected Retail last year. The brand was able to reach a new audience through participating in Zalando’s Connected Retail program and expand its customer base. The best part? It’s risk-free for both sides: LOLA decides which items are sold and has full control over prices, and Zalando customers can discover new brands using the same Zalando service they are used to in terms of shipping, returns and customer service.

LOLA founder Anke Mehring, who produces in Paris and sells her LOLA jewelry in her store in Hamburg is enthusiastic and shared her experience: „With Connected Retail by Zalando, my brand ‚LOLA jewelry‘ has been introduced to millions of online customers who would otherwise never have been able to access my collections and which would not have resulted in additional sales for my business. Moreover, the partner program adds additional local awareness to my store which is contributing to higher customer traffic in my offline business in Hamburg, Germany.“

How to create the right content

Zalando’s Connected Retail onboarding process is easy and fast: The platform offers an easy-to-use tool for article creation in-store. On top of this, Zalando provides guidelines for images and attributes that are required to appear on the Zalando platform, easing retailers’ reluctance. If needed, Zalando offers support with image creation if the brand or retailer does not have images at all or only with insufficient quality. Zalando is constantly in touch with partners and working together on co-creating the tools and services further to allow an easy and smooth process of article onboarding to the Zalando platform.

If you are interested in joining Connected Retail with your brick-and-mortar stores, get in touch with us.