Zalando has ended its returns collection service for customers of its loyalty programme.
The German fast fashion retailer shuttered the service for Zalando Plus customers on 8 November, saying it “did not always meet [its] requirements for a premium programme”.
Zalando encouraged customers to use Zalando’s standard free returns option after that date.
Same-day pick up of returns was one of the launch features of Zalando Plus when it launched in 2017 as Zalando Zet. According to Zalando’s third quarter results, Zalando Plus customers are responsible for a 10% share of gross merchandise volume (defined as the total value of goods being sold over the platform) in Germany.
The company is using electric vehicles to deliver packages for its premium membership service. A three-month pilot in the German city of Hamburg will see electric vehicles delivering hundreds of packages per day to customers of the loyalty programme.
The 24 vehicles, which feature Zalando’s branding, are supplied by Mercedes, Nissan, Renault and ARI. Drivers will be provided by third party logistics companies, while Zalando will plan and provide the charging infrastructure.
Zalando saw revenues grow 26.7% to EUR 1.5 billion in the third quarter of 2019. The company said fulfilment costs had fallen due to higher warehouse utilisation.