Zalando grew its gross merchandise volume (GMV) by 21.7% year over year in fiscal Q1 2026, reaching approximately $4.98 billion (Digital Commerce 360 - AI). B2B revenue surged 23.6% to about $344 million, while total company revenue reached $3.48 billion, up from $2.82 billion in the prior year (Digital Commerce 360 - AI). The company's active customer base grew to 62.3 million, an increase of about 10 million from the prior year, with average customer spend rising 2.9% to approximately $354 (Digital Commerce 360 - AI).
AI capabilities are now central to Zalando's competitive edge. The company's AI shopping assistant attracted approximately 10 million users in its first quarter, with customers asking an average of three to five questions per session in conversational interactions (RetailNews.ai). AI-based size recommendations have reduced returns by 10% over the past year (RetailNews.ai), while approximately 90% of content within Zalando's Concept Store is now AI-generated or supported, cutting campaign cycles from eight weeks to days (RetailNews.ai). Zalando is also deploying AI-driven robots across its pan-European fulfillment network, automating 2 million picks per month (Digital Commerce 360 - AI), and using generative AI for image processing to automatically process about 6,000 product articles per day (Digital Commerce 360 - AI).
For commerce practitioners, Zalando's results illustrate how B2B platform infrastructure—particularly fulfillment services and modular operating systems—can unlock significant partner value. The company's ZEOS platform now serves over 1,200 merchants and enables around 11 billion euros in gross merchandise value (RetailNews.ai). B2B revenues surpassed 1 billion euros for the first time in 2025, growing 14.6% year-over-year (RetailNews.ai), demonstrating that AI-enhanced logistics and personalization at scale can drive both customer acquisition and operational efficiency in fragmented cross-border markets.