Zalando has extended its Connected Retail programme to three new countries, offering more physical retailers a path to online.
The programme, which allows bricks-and-mortar retailers to sell through the Zalando online platform, will now be available to retailers in Poland, Sweden and Spain. New partners who sign up to the platform will have commission waived for up to three months.
Stores connect their stock to the platform by exporting inventory data from their ERP system and orders are fulfilled from the retailers’ stores by carriers. The platform offers online content creation, payment services, order management and customer care capabilities.
In April, the fast fashion retailer waived commission and shifted to a weekly rather than monthly payment schedule for Connected Retail in Germany and the Netherlands; this offer has been extended until the end of the year.
Carsten Keller, VP Direct to Consumer at Zalando, said: “It was important for us to react quickly to support those during the crisis that suffered most in our industry: brick-and-mortar stores.
“However, the crisis is not over and retailers continue to see noticeable effects on their business: consumers are only slowly returning to the high streets.
“So we decided to not only prolong our offer in our existing markets, Germany and the Netherlands, but also to launch Connected Retail with a commission-free offer in three new European markets: Sweden, Spain, and Poland from July.
“Together we are tackling the challenges of the situation and creating an even more exciting and sustainable shopping experience for customers: broader, more localised assortments shipped from local retailers even faster.”
