The Maze: Zalando’s second quarter came with two very different growth rates. The European fashion group reported revenue up 20.8% to €3.4 billion and gross merchandise value up 20.7% to €4.9 billion. Yet the pro-forma view, which compares both periods as if About You had already been included, showed only 1.1% revenue growth and 4.4% GMV growth. The acquisition made the group bigger. The next test is whether Zalando’s marketplace, software and logistics services can make that bigger group grow better.
About You supplies most of the visible acceleration. Zalando completed the acquisition at the end of 2025, so Q2 now includes a business absent from the prior-year reported base. That accounting effect explains why a 20.8% headline can coexist with 1.1% underlying revenue growth. Integration is producing early signs of customer overlap: Zalando says six million people are active across both platforms, while About You users make up roughly 10% of the enlarged customer base. The useful metric is not simply how many customers the deal adds. It is whether Zalando can move those shoppers between apps, increase order frequency and do so without buying growth through heavier discounts.
The strategic prize sits beyond the consumer storefront. Zalando describes its consumer portfolio as Zalando, About You and Lounge by Zalando. On the partner side, it wants to build an ecommerce operating system through ZEOS, Tradebyte and SCAYLE. In plain English, that means selling fulfilment, marketplace connectivity and commerce software to brands and retailers. This creates revenue that is less dependent on Zalando selling another jacket in its own app. It also gives the group more control over the infrastructure behind European fashion ecommerce. Brands gain reach and operational tools, but they can also become more dependent on the platform carrying their inventory, data and marketplace connections.
AI is a lever, not yet a financial explanation. Zalando is investing in AI across discovery and operations, and the selected story places it alongside partnerships and B2B services. But the available Q2 evidence does not disclose how much revenue, profit or conversion improvement AI produced. Operators should separate the strategy deck from the scorecard. Useful proof would include higher conversion, lower fulfilment cost, better product discovery or stronger B2B margins. Until those metrics appear, AI is part of the mechanism Zalando is building—not the audited reason group revenue rose 20.8%.
The outlook exposes the quality question. Zalando expects full-year GMV and revenue growth at the lower end of its previous 12%-17% range and narrowed adjusted EBIT guidance. Shares fell more than 13% after the release. That reaction is less about rejecting the About You deal than discounting the headline. A larger group can report faster growth during the first year of consolidation while still struggling to accelerate its existing operations. Once the acquisition comparison rolls through, pro-forma growth, integration costs and service margins will have nowhere to hide.
Why it matters: Zalando is assembling a distinctly European commerce stack: several consumer apps above, logistics, marketplace connectivity and software below. About You gives it immediate scale. B2B services could give it a better margin mix. AI could improve how the system converts demand and processes operations. But Q2 shows the gap between architecture and proof. Retailers and brands should watch whether Zalando becomes a stronger infrastructure partner or simply a larger marketplace with more integration work. Investors should watch the same thing through organic growth, adjusted EBIT and cash—not the acquisition-inflated headline.
Sources: Retail Week | WWD | Zalando Corporate | Retail Times
