“It comes as no surprise that Zalando continues to perform strongly, even in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, remaining one of the fastest-growing online players in Europe. The brand has a history of innovative and bold initiatives focused on sustainability, which attracts a young and ever growing audience of avid shoppers. One of the company’s main strengths comes from operating a multichannel strategy, combining online sales with its Zircle bricks-and-mortar shops, the first of which opened in the Alexa shopping centre in Berlin in August 2019. The initiative resonates with Mintel Trend Experience is All, which discusses how consumers are craving experiences in physical stores over purely transactional shopping.

The brand’s sustainability strategy was strengthened by the launch of the Zalando Wardrobe app in March 2018, a platform that allows customers to sell second-hand clothing both to the group and to other users. In April 2018, Zalando then launched the ‘zImpact’ programme, which offers visibility, funding, and expertise to industry players that use digital technology to increase supply chain transparency.

As a result, Zalando currently attracts some of the youngest online consumers in Germany. According to our research, Zalando shoppers also scored the highest in their concerns about the environmental impact of shopping online, which ties in closely with the retailer’s positioning and numerous initiatives around circular fashion and sustainability. We discuss these and other insights in more detail in our upcoming Mintel report Online Retailing - Germany - July 2020.”