Marks & Spencer expands Zalando partnership across Europe

Marks & Spencer (M&S) has expanded its partnership with Zalando’s ZEOS platform to fulfil its entire online direct-to-consumer business across 22 European markets.

The rollout began earlier this month with a trial in Poland. During the first week, customer demand increased by 22%, while conversion rates rose by more than 97%, according to M&S.

Following the initial results, the partnership has been extended across Europe, including some of M&S’s largest online markets such as France, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain.

M&S said using ZEOS is helping reduce logistics costs by up to 50%, while also improving the online shopping experience for customers. Delivery times have been shortened, with delivery costs falling by up to 58%.

The retailer has also reported significant improvements in returns processing. Return times have been reduced from as long as 35 days to just eight days. This allows returned products to become available for sale again much faster, helping improve stock availability for customers.

For M&S, the partnership is part of its wider effort to strengthen its European online business while making fulfilment more efficient. By using Zalando’s established infrastructure, the retailer can manage deliveries and returns across multiple markets with lower costs and faster processing.

The expansion highlights the growing importance of efficient cross-border fulfilment as fashion retailers seek to improve online sales while keeping logistics costs under control.