Zalando co-CEO David Schröder outlined how artificial intelligence is already delivering measurable results across the company's business. Approximately 90% of content within Zalando's Concept Store is now generated or supported by AI, transforming campaign cycles from eight weeks to days (RetailNews.ai). AI-based size recommendations have reduced returns by 10% over the past year, while the AI shopping assistant attracted approximately 10 million users in its first quarter after launch (RetailNews.ai).
The shift from traditional search to conversational AI represents a defining change in retail interaction. Customers using the AI assistant ask an average of three to five questions per session, enabling richer context and qualitatively different recommendations compared to keyword search (RetailNews.ai). For commerce practitioners, this transformation signals that conversational commerce is becoming the new default rather than a feature, fundamentally reshaping how brands and retailers must engage consumers.
Beyond consumer-facing applications, Zalando's B2B infrastructure is scaling rapidly. In 2025, B2B revenues surpassed 1 billion euros for the first time, growing 14.6% year-over-year, with adjusted EBIT more than doubling (RetailNews.ai). Schröder warned that Europe risks ceding commerce infrastructure to US and Chinese platforms unless it addresses scaling, growth capital, and single-market conditions for technology companies (RetailNews.ai).