ZMS turns 10: How Zalando’s retail media unit helps fashion and lifestyle brands grow across Europe
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ZMS turns 10: How Zalando’s retail media unit helps fashion and lifestyle brands grow across Europe
ZMS is Zalando’s in-house retail media business. In 2024 alone, ZMS campaigns generated 76.5 million attributed item sales and over 31 billion viewable impressions. With ZMS, partners can build brand affinity, boost consideration and achieve meaningful business results within a trusted fashion-forward environment. We offer brands both reach and relevance through deep customer insights, smart targeting and creative formats tailored to fashion and lifestyle audiences. We are developing engaging formats such as livestreaming, content co-created with brands, and brand-focused homepage features.
ZMS plays a key role in this vision by helping partners engage customers at every stage of their journey. As Zalando’s in-house retail media business, ZMS enables brands to turn visibility into action. In 2024 alone, ZMS campaigns generated 76.5 million attributed item sales and over 31 billion viewable impressions. This shows how storytelling and performance can work together to drive measurable impact.
We offer brands both reach and relevance through deep customer insights, smart targeting and creative formats tailored to fashion and lifestyle audiences. With ZMS, partners can build brand affinity, boost consideration and achieve meaningful business results within a trusted fashion-forward environment.
What are brands looking for right now?
Brands today need to deliver results and stay culturally relevant, often with tighter resources.
That’s where ZMS creates value. Some brands use our self-service Ad Manager for performance and consideration campaigns, while others collaborate with our consultancy teams on strategic, insight-led activations.
Our Customer Journey Compass helps partners assess their position across the funnel and identify the right levers to turn insights into data-driven marketing campaigns.
Whether the goal is awareness, consideration, or conversion, ZMS enables brands to activate across Zalando and beyond, including social, connected TV, and digital display channels.
What are the biggest opportunities you see for the future?
Three things stand out. First, storytelling combined with dynamic, personalised targeting. We are developing engaging formats such as livestreaming, content co-created with brands, and brand-focused homepage features. Additionally, we use authentic brand content to create immersive experiences. At the same time, we use data-driven targeting to ensure customers receive relevant and personalized content and experiences that truly resonate.
Second, measurement. We’re investing in tools that help brands understand impact across the full funnel, from brand impact, to customer engagement, and long-term sales impact.
And third, loyalty. Retail media can help strengthen relationships with existing customers rather than just acquiring new ones. This is an area we’re actively exploring: how to help brands use Zalando’s platform not only to reach but to retain and re-engage their audiences over time.
You stepped into the role of Managing Director of ZMS earlier this year, after previously leading Zalando’s lifestyle offerings like Beauty and Designer. How has that experience shaped your view on where ZMS is headed?