Zalando – Online fashion

Smooth Entry: Onboarding & Tailoring the Experience

First impressions count, especially with potentially 9 onboarding steps. Zalando aims for efficiency and relevance right away.

The journey starts with immediate localization – selecting your country sets the stage. Next comes the inevitable consent management. Zalando handles this transparently, explaining why they need consent (performance measurement, personalized shopping, advertising) and offering granular controls ("Accept all," "Set preferences," "Only essential"). This builds trust early on. ✅

Account creation is streamlined under the "Sign in or register / In a snap" banner. Entering an email address determines if you're logging in or registering. New users provide a password (with strength indicators) and first/last name. No excessive data demands upfront.

Crucially, Zalando pushes for immediate personalization. Before you even browse, it prompts you to "Follow the brands you like," explaining "We'll show you more from them first." This isn't just fluff; it's a core mechanic to make the subsequent feed instantly more relevant and engaging. Shortly after, the app requests notification permissions, cleverly timed after demonstrating the potential for personalized updates. 🔔

Drowning in Choice? Mastering Discovery & Navigation

Fashion is about discovery and finding exactly what you want. Zalando tackles this challenge head-on with a multi-pronged approach.

The home feed is a dynamic mix: curated collections ("Spring/Summer '25"), video content showcasing trends and products (with autoplay functionality users can control in settings), shoppable outfits ("Get the Look" often featuring creators), and clear navigation between Women, Men, and Kids sections.

Where Zalando truly shines is its filtering and search. 🔍 The sheer depth of filtering options is remarkable – from basics like size, color, and price to specifics like sport type, material composition (e.g., Cotton 100%), pattern, fit, shape (Straight, Fitted, Tapered), product standards (e.g., Wood-based material minimums), and length. This caters to users with high purchase intent who know exactly what they need.

Adding another layer is the AI-powered "Assistant (Beta)." 🤖 This conversational interface allows users to ask natural language questions ("I need a coat for a casual event"), guiding them through options (trench coat, puffer, blazer?) and presenting curated results directly within the chat. It’s an attempt to simplify navigation for users overwhelmed by choice or seeking specific style advice.

Product Detail Pages (PDPs) are information-rich: multiple high-quality images, clear colour/size selection (often showing price variations by size), detailed descriptions covering material, care instructions, article numbers, fit guidance (including model height/size), and delivery estimates. Users can easily follow the brand directly from the PDP, reinforcing the personalization loop. ❤️

Keeping Users Hooked: Engagement & Retention Tactics

Getting the download is just the start. Zalando employs several tactics to keep users coming back.

The "follow" system for brands and creators is central. This transforms the app from a generic catalog into a personalized feed, surfacing new arrivals and collections from preferred sources. Clear confirmation messages ("Following! We'll show you more...") reinforce the benefit.

The Wishlist (the simple heart icon ❤️) is a fundamental e-commerce tool, allowing users to save items for later, track price drops, or simply curate their desired wardrobe.

Recommendations are ubiquitous and data-driven. Sections like "Recommended for you," "Similar items," and "How about these?" leverage user behavior (browsing history, followed brands, past purchases) to surface relevant products, driving further exploration and potential conversion. The app even provides transparency on "How recommendations work," detailing the use of basic info, profile data, and user actions.

Video content plays a significant role in showcasing products dynamically and communicating trends, making the shopping experience more immersive than static images alone. The ability to toggle autoplay gives users control over their data usage and browsing experience.

The Path to Purchase: Conversion & Checkout Flow

As an e-commerce app, the checkout process needs to be seamless. Zalando has refined this flow extensively.

Adding items to the bag is straightforward after selecting size and colour. The shopping bag clearly outlines the items, prices, estimated delivery dates (sometimes showing multiple parcels for items shipped separately), and the total cost.

The checkout process is a standard, multi-step funnel: Address → Payment → Confirm → Done. Zalando allows saving addresses and uses postcode lookup to speed up entry. Billing and delivery addresses can differ. Payment options are standard (Credit/Debit Card), and the app allows securely saving details for future purchases. Notably, there's no paywall – the app's success isn't measured by subscriptions but by completed transactions. 🛒

Zalando also features a dedicated flow for purchasing Gift Cards. Users can select designs, choose values (£30, £50, £75, £100, etc.), personalize a message ("JUST FOR YOU," "Hi! Congrats!"), and choose delivery (email PDF or print-at-home PDF). This flow also proceeds through the standard e-commerce checkout. 🎁

Managing the Relationship: Account & Support Features

Beyond shopping, the app provides comprehensive account management.

The "Your Account" section offers access to Orders, Returns, Personal details (name, email, password change), saved Addresses, Gift Card balances, and App Settings. Settings include managing notifications, toggling video autoplay, newsletter subscriptions, data tracking preferences, and options to rate or share the app.

Zalando also addresses data privacy seriously, offering clear pathways to "Request your data" or "Delete your account," alongside managing "Recommendation preferences." Help & FAQ sections provide self-service support, and users can report legal concerns, referencing compliance with regulations like the EU Digital Services Act. 🛡️

The $0 Revenue Question: Understanding the Business Model

The context provided highlights $0 monthly revenue and no paywall. This isn't a flaw; it's by design. Zalando's app is not a product to be sold in itself. It's a highly optimized mobile storefront, a crucial channel driving sales for the main Zalando e-commerce business. Every feature, from personalization to the AI assistant, is geared towards one goal: facilitating product discovery and purchase. 💰

The mention of "Running ads" likely refers to Zalando promoting products or brands within their platform (sponsored listings, perhaps) or running external ad campaigns to acquire app users, rather than displaying third-party ads within the app itself. The entire experience is focused on selling Zalando's inventory.

Final Thoughts: A Mobile Commerce Powerhouse

Zalando's mobile app is a prime example of a platform leveraging mobile technology purely to drive core business revenue. Its success lies in:

Deep Personalization: Tailoring the experience from onboarding onwards.
Powerful Discovery Tools: Combining robust search/filtering with AI assistance.
Engaging Content: Using video and creator content for inspiration.
Seamless Conversion: Optimizing the path from discovery to checkout.
Strong Infrastructure: Providing comprehensive account management and support.

By focusing relentlessly on the user journey and removing friction at every step, Zalando has built a mobile experience that effectively translates hundreds of thousands of monthly downloads into tangible sales, proving that direct app revenue isn't the only metric of mobile success in the e-commerce world. Understanding these intricate flows and strategic choices is key for anyone building or optimizing a mobile commerce experience. ✨