Selling on Zalando: how to succeed and optimize your sales on this marketplace

Why sell on Zalando?

Founded in 2008 in Germany Zalando was originally a simple e-commerce site. It only launched its marketplace in 2014.

Today, it is one of the most popular fashion marketplaces in Europe. Selling your products on this platform enables you to benefit from real visibility.

Visibility potential in the fashion market

Zalando is present in more than 25 European countries .

In August 2024, the platform had a total of almost 11.88 million visits .

Integrating such a renowned platform is a real opportunity for any e-tailer.

This is your guarantee of penetrating a vast market and reaching a wide audience.

Here are some other advantages of joining the famous platform:

• Credibility and customer confidence . Thanks to a solid reputation, fast delivery times and flexible return policies, Zalando has built up real credibility with customers over the years. This can be especially beneficial to retailers new to e-commerce.

• Ready-to-use logistical and technological infrastructures . The platform offers high-performance tools for managing orders, inventory and customer service.

Criteria for acceptance as a Zalando seller

Any company wishing to sell its products on Zalando must obtain validation from the platform.

The Zalando platform pays particular attention to the user experience. Customer satisfaction is at the heart of the marketplace's integration.

To this end, the platform has drawn up the following list of criteria that each seller must respect:

• Safety stocks to avoid order cancellations due to insufficient stock. The platform favors sellers who are able to maintain a sufficient and regular stock.

• Respecting high quality standards and offering authentic products. Zalando demands new and authentic products.

• Efficiently manage order dispatch and product returns while respecting the deadlines imposed by the platform. The platform understands that meeting delivery deadlines is an important aspect of customer satisfaction.

In addition, the platform imposes a list of authorized carriers by country.

• Ensuring optimal customer service . Every Zalando seller has an obligation to ensure a smooth and optimal customer experience. This includes responsive customer service. To achieve this, sellers must meet delivery and return deadlines, respond quickly to customer queries and ensure prompt order processing.

• Ensuring price consistency . As part of its ongoing commitment to customer satisfaction, Zalando scrutinizes the prices charged by sellers to ensure that they are not higher than those on other platforms.

Need we also remind you that Zalando is a platform dedicated to fashion products?

You'll only be eligible if you offer products in this theme.

The platform also pays close attention to compliance with eco-responsible criteria :

• Use of recycled materials

• Environmentally-friendly manufacturing processes

• Etc.

3 steps to becoming a Zalando salesperson

Here are the 3 main steps to follow in order to sell on Zalando:

Prepare your registration documents and information

The platform requires a certain amount of information to validate your account opening. In particular, you must provide :

• Legal information about your company

• Proof of your logistics capabilities taking into account platform requirements

• La size chart or the size directory for all your products. The platform generally requires 3 sizes to be continuously available.

Submit your application and be approved as a salesperson

Zalando screens every seller who wishes to offer their products on the platform. Each seller must apply and be approved by the platform.

To do this, you must fill in a registration form and meet the criteria imposed by the platform. This step allows you to submit your brand to Zalando for approval.

If the platform approves your brand, you sign an account opening contract after negotiating the terms.

Create and optimize your product sheets

A product sheet is like your product's identity card . It must describe the product so that the customer can quickly be convinced of its usefulness.

Its content varies according to different factors. However, it must contain at least the following information:

• A product description

• Technical specifications (size, color, weight, dimensions, etc.)

• List of accessories supplied

• A user guide and/or instructions for use

Your product sheet must be clear and, above all, sincere.

Don't forget to add high-quality images . For most product categories, the platform requires a minimum of 3 images (except for socks and tights, for example, where only 2 are required).

Don't forget to add relevant keywords to optimize your product sheets and make it easier for your targets to find your products.

How do you manage your cash flow when selling on Zalando?

Like all marketplaces, Zalando takes payments from customers and does not immediately transfer them to sellers.

The platform has its own payment terms policies . This affects sellers' cash flow.

Zalando-specific payment terms and their impact

In general, Zalando adopts a bi-monthly or monthly payment policy depending on the type of partnership entered into by the seller.

In addition, the platform applies 100-day return policy . The payment terms applied by the platform can therefore take this return period into account.

In the event of a return, the platform must also refund customers .

For this reason, it often waits until the return period has elapsed before transferring payments to the seller.

This situation has a definite impact on the seller's cash flow, which may find itself short of cash to cover operating costs (e.g. storage, production or marketing costs).

This is especially true for small companies without substantial cash reserves, as it can lengthen their operating cycle.

In other words, the money invested in operating costs and inventory takes longer to return .

This situation can expose the company to risk of overindebtedness . To bridge the liquidity gap and meet short-term costs, it can take out loans.

So, without a specific strategy, payment times on Zalando can be jeopardize the company's financial health.

Use invoice advances to finance your inventory expenses

Advances on invoices or factoring is a mechanism that enables companies to finance expenses. such as inventory purchases by anticipating payment of their accounts receivable .

In concrete terms, this involves seller to transfer unpaid invoices to a specialized company (the factor) to advance part of the invoice amount. The factor generally pays 70% to 90% of the amount of the invoice transferred.

The remaining percentage is then paid out once the invoice has been paid, after deduction of the commission factor (between 1 and 5% of the invoice amount).

This financing solution enables a Zalando seller to avoid the negative consequences of payment delays on the platform.

Invoice advance or factoring enables the seller to optimize his optimization cycle by allowing him to quick access to cash to reinvest in stock. And all without having to wait for payment terms on Zalando.

Hero helps you optimize your cash flow at Zalando

Hero can also be an excellent ally for sellers looking for liquidity on Zalando. In fact, Hero is a 2-in-1 solution that combines payment gateway and factoring functionalities.

Here's how the platform works:

1. The platform advances payment of customer invoices as soon as they are issued

2. It reimburses itself when the platform makes the payment, and even pays out any surplus.

On the other hand, Hero also lets you benefit from payment facilities when paying for your inventory purchases .

In fact, the platform can also advance payment to your suppliers, leaving you the option of repaying in 3 or 4 instalments, or after 60 or 90 days.

Hero can be an ideal financial partner which allows you to reduce your dependence on Zalando's payment terms.

How to optimize your sales on Zalando?

Here are our tips for optimizing your sales on Zalando:

Using Zalando Marketing Services (ZMS) advertising campaigns

ZMS is an optional service you can subscribe to at Zalando. This service allows you to support in launching promotional and advertising campaigns to achieve greater visibility.

Here are the potential benefits you can gain from Zalando Marketing Services:

• Boost your sales by reaching a wider customer base

• Increase the visibility of your products and, more broadly, your brand

• Gain a deeper understanding of your customers thanks to the data collected by the platform

• Create more relevant and powerful content.

Adapt your pricing and promotions strategy on Zalando

Of course, selling on Zalando has the potential to reach a wide audience Given the marketplace's reputation. However, competition is fierce.

So every seller needs to adopt specific strategies to get the most out of his business. Price adjustment is one such strategy.

Here's how:

• Analyze market prices. A consumer will inevitably compare the prices charged by different vendors before making a purchase. To remain competitive, you need to adjust your prices regularly to bring them into line with the competition.

• Anticipate promotional periods or participate in Zalando promotional campaigns . Sellers on Zalando regularly launch promotions during periods such as seasonal or holiday sales, for example, and the platform itself can also organize large-scale promotional campaigns. Think about participating in these events or anticipating them by preparing stock or implementing strategies to stay competitive.

Manage customer reviews and improve your conversion rate

Customer reviews are a powerful tool that every Zalando seller can use to optimize sales. . All it takes is for your customers to testify to the benefits of your products or brand, and potential customers will be won over.

Here's how to use social proof south Zalando :

• Encourage positive reviews . Don't hesitate to encourage your customers to leave positive reviews by providing optimal customer service or offering promotions.

• Responding to negative reviews . In the event of a negative review, contact the customer or offer returns or refunds. The idea is to demonstrate that you're open to criticism and ready to put things right.

• Offer impeccable after-sales service . Inform your customers about your return policies and order tracking. To avoid any dissatisfaction, you need to be transparent about the various delivery stages and inform them in the event of delays.

Fees and commissions on Zalando

Zalando deducts its fees and commissions before transferring payments to sellers.

How much does Zalando charge sellers?

Here are the different fees deducted by Zalando:

• Sales commissions . Ranging from 5 to 25%, they vary according to product category and order volume.

• Fees for optional services such as Zalando Marketing Service (ZMS) or Zalando Fulfillment Solutions (ZFS)

• Refunds for returned products.

Reduce costs related to returns and commissions

As you can see, integrating a marketplace involves costs. You can reduce them by adopting the following strategies:

• Give as much information as possible about your products, making sure your product sheets are clear and detailed.

• Analyze reasons for return . You need to understand why your customers are returning your products and take steps to remedy the situation in the future:

  • Change packaging

  • Update product descriptions

  • Change supplier

  • Etc.

• Streamline your returns process by authorizing point-of-sale returns, insuring your parcels or using a competitive carrier.

Maximize your margins by optimizing your logistics operations

Logistics, and more specifically warehousing or shipping, is a key issue in e-commerce. It can also be a major expense item for e-tailers (unless they opt for dropshipping). Logistics thus have an impact on profit margins.

Here's how to optimize logistics operations to maximize your margins:

• Optimize inventory management to maintain continuous product availability and avoid stock-outs and order cancellations. To do this, you can use WMS (Warehouse Management System) software, which enables you to monitor stock levels in real time and anticipate replenishments.

• Automate warehousing and order-picking processes

• Use ZFS (Zalando Fulfillment Solutions) services, Zalando's own logistics service. ZFS pools shipping costs with other sellers to apply reduced charges.

Managing stock and returns on Zalando

Here are our tips for managing stock and returns on Zalando:

Use Zalando Fulfillment Solutions (ZFS) for logistics

We have seen that ZFS is the platform's integrated logistics service. It performs various functions:

• Storage support

• Order picking

• Shipping to end customers

So it's un means of outsourcing storage so you can concentrate on higher value-added tasks.

Anticipate returns and minimize their impact on your cash flow

We've seen that returns can be a real nightmare for an e-tailer. Not only do they entail costs, but they can also delay payments from the platform.

You must therefore anticipate them as best you can by :

• Centralizing returns in a single warehouse to reduce transport costs

• Working with specialist returns management companies

• Anticipate returns by analyzing the reasons for them

Optimize inventory management to meet demand

Zalando requires sellers to ensure a minimum level of storage to limit order cancellation rates.

Here's how you can optimize your inventory management:

• Anticipating periods of high demand according to seasons, market trends and promotional periods. Such a strategy allows you to avoid overstocking low-demand products or running out of stock on best-sellers.

• Identify slow- and fast-moving products to adapt replenishment accordingly

• Use automated inventory management software to monitor stock levels in real time and automate orders

Hero helps you manage your cash flow as a Zalando seller

Thanks to a range of services tailored to the needs of sellers on marketplaces, Hero is a the ideal financial partner for a Zalando seller .

With Hero, you can forget the cash flow worries associated with payment delays from Zalando. Hero pays you for your sales as soon as the products are dispatched.

And that's not all, because Hero can also advance payment to your suppliers for the purchase of your inventory.

Thanks to Hero, you can have optimum working capital at all times to cover your operating expenses and preserve your company's financial health.

In conclusion, sell on Zalando offers a real opportunity to boost your visibility and reach a wide audience.

But don't forget to optimize your cash flow to avoid the negative effects of platform payment delays. Hero's factoring and cash advance services can help you avoid these negative effects.