We will try on clothes with a smartphone. Zalando’s regional chief reveals the plans [WYWIAD]

Daniel Roginski, CEO of Zalando Central and Eastern Europe: After this decade, I can say that our country is still one of the most important markets for Zalando. We’re very pleased with the dynamics and the whole business. Certainly, an important step in Poland was the establishment of cooperation with InPost, thanks to which we can collect orders from parcel lockers, which is a direct response to the needs of our customers. I have another big reason to feel proud – in fact, I don’t have to talk about it in the end. It is an adaptive fashion group aimed at people with disabilities. First of all, we are launching it as part of our own brands, but we are also encouraging our partners to join this beautiful initiative, which has been very well received.

For CEE, which I’m responsible for, we’ve only been in Hungary or Romania for a few months – we’re focused on business development and reaching customers in these markets with information about our offer. However, we are also working on solutions that make shopping at Zalando more personalized and convenient.

this means?

There is no denying that we as an industry do not like returns and neither do our customers. This is why our in-house team works extensively on developing what is called sizing and fit. Thanks to this technology, we can provide customers with information on whether a particular product of a certain size matches what they and similar customers have purchased so far. In short – we can advise customers on choosing the right size. This technology also allows us to assess whether the new collection will be in standard sizes or whether we should recommend a larger or smaller size.

What are the effects?

I can assure you it works. Across all markets, the return rate for those items for which we give size advice is down 10%. They are important to us and the environment alike, but they are not our last word. In the coming months, we will launch a body measurement function, and then our recommendations will be based on customers’ actual dimensions. We’re also working on introducing a virtual fitting room, and are now piloting the project with partner brands. It will allow users to see what the item looks like on their virtual 3D avatars. Another important topic for us is personalization. We have 1.8 million products, but we want Zalando to be customized for each customer. I would like to compare our ambition to receiving everyone Zalando He had the feeling that he was entering a fancy store. Likewise, we want the customer to feel that there are items specific to him directly. And we, as an experienced seller, can suggest to the client what suits him best.

In Poland, the virtual shoe fitting room is very popular. However, as I understand it, creating a virtual fitting room is more difficult.

In fact, it is many times more difficult. In the case of shoes, a “virtual try-on” can actually have two dimensions – it’s about matching the length and width of the shoe to the foot. It is really about scanning a single sheet of paper with the reflection of the foot and adjusting the dimensions of the shoe. And when it comes to clothing, we talk about many different categories. Swimsuits, baggy pants, baggy pants, T-shirts … And each of these categories essentially becomes a separate search issue. This is why we are investing in a project – I would say very ambitious – using AI solutions. Again, this is a very complex subject and project, but at the same time very satisfying.

Let’s go a little further ahead. Is it possible that artificial intelligence can “predict” how a child will grow – and offer them the right clothes in the “future” sizes? When it comes to shoes, these solutions are already on the market.

Let me put it this way: It’s an interesting area of research (laughs). However, I am not an expert on such potential solutions.

Stay in the know of the future. Do you anticipate a time when we won’t go to stores to try on clothes at all and only online fitting rooms will suffice?

I believe sales channels will always coexist. I don’t suppose we quarrel with other channels, we even have solutions that allow physical stores to sell on Zalando. We are satisfied with the “virtual fitting rooms” tests, but in the end it will be just another tool for customers and they will always choose the ability to use online and offline shopping.

Zalando also has its own physical stores. Only not in Poland.

We currently have 13 outlets in Germany. We are constantly looking at how the concept works. Will there be similar stores in Poland? It’s hard to say at the moment.

You mentioned that no one likes to return – not even customers. However, I know a few people who disagree with this. These are people who, for example, buy several pairs of shoes online and try them on, eventually choosing the one that suits them the most. Zalando helped create such customer behavior with free returns.

Free returns are an integral part of our business model. However, we think it is not a good idea for customers to have to return items that do not fit them. So we think we’ll be able to advise them on the perfect size so they don’t have to. This is my ambition and my team. However, until then, we’re trying to make this template – choosing multiple sizes and returning the ones that don’t fit – as user-friendly as possible.

The rest of the article is below the video

Arguably a decade since Zalando has been in Poland is a long time. How have customer choices changed from this perspective? Covid lockdowns changed the way we dress?

Indeed, a lot has changed in that time. I remember that the first product sold in the Polish Zalando store was Reebok shorts. In 2012, the best seller in the women’s category was the “little black dress,” a classic dress and high heels. Today, in the women’s category, jeans and white sneakers are the most popular. If we compare these two “appearances” with each other, it can be said that it is a big change (laughs).

And the male category?

In 2012, the hits are outdoor jackets, T-shirts and high-top sneakers. Today? The hits are baseball caps, which are sold in really amazing quantities with us. Men, like women, also like to choose white sneakers. And what is the pandemic itself? At the time, all relaxed, casual “waist-down” clothing sold well. So we had a real boom of all kinds of gym shorts and the like. However, after the closures, we see that customers “refresh” their wardrobes, for example, with stylish clothes. Certainly, we now have more opportunities to use formal wear or evening wear.

Polish brands are quite visible at Zalando. Is it because of their high sales?

This is my personal pride – the successes of the brands 4F, La Mania, Kazar … These Polish brands have been successful not only in our market, but also in other markets where Zalando is present. I really admire the owners and teams of these companies, because these brands have simply become the champions of Zalando in many markets. These companies work hard to adapt to different customer needs – whether German, Italian or Polish. And the effects are really huge. Polish brands, for example, are able to produce a collection dedicated to the Italian market, which is very impressive. We are not limited to the big brands, like 4F or Kazar. We also have smaller brands – Macadamia or Fluff, which could expand fantastically with us.

Anchor: Mateusz Madejski, Business Insider Polska journalist