Zalando Plus Brings Fashion, Music and Everyday Convenience Into a Broader Loyalty Experience

Zalando Plus Brings Fashion, Music and Everyday Convenience Into a Broader Loyalty Experience

(IN BRIEF) Zalando is evolving Zalando Plus for an AI-driven retail environment where loyalty is increasingly based on personal relevance, everyday usefulness and customer relationships rather than only discounts or points. Olga Batievskaya, VP Loyalty at Zalando, said AI is helping loyalty shift from a transactional model to an experience-led one, where benefits are more timely, contextual and connected to customer needs. Zalando Plus is being positioned as a way to bring together service, inspiration, access, rewards and partner benefits for the company’s most loyal customers. The programme is expanding its partner ecosystem with Spotify, following earlier Wolt+ delivery benefits. Across 17 Plus markets, eligible members new to Spotify Premium can unlock up to five months of Premium depending on their Plus level. Zalando is also preparing for more agent-led shopping journeys, including through its endorsement of Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol.

(PRESS RELEASE) BERLIN, 20-Jul-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Zalando is reshaping how customer loyalty works in an increasingly personalised, conversational and AI-driven shopping environment, with Zalando Plus becoming more closely connected to customers’ everyday lives.

As retail experiences become more tailored and agent-led, customers are expecting more than discounts and points. They increasingly want brands to understand their tastes, respond to their needs and provide relevant value in ways that fit naturally into daily routines.

In a discussion on the future of relationship-led retail, Olga Batievskaya, Vice President Loyalty at Zalando, said AI is helping loyalty move from a transactional model to a more experience-led approach.

Zalando has used AI and machine learning for many years across areas such as recommendations, size and fit, helping customers find products and content that match their preferences.

For loyalty, Batievskaya said AI creates an opportunity to make benefits more timely, relevant and connected to a customer’s context.

Traditional loyalty programmes often follow a simple structure, where customers buy products, collect points and receive rewards. In the AI era, she said, loyalty needs to support immediate needs, whether through convenience, exclusive access, style curation or features that help customers make more confident choices.

Zalando Plus is designed to bring the best of Zalando closer to its most loyal customers. The programme offers reasons to engage directly with Zalando not only through products, but also through service, inspiration, access, rewards and partner benefits.

Batievskaya said this direct relationship is especially important in fashion and lifestyle, where customer decisions are shaped by inspiration, fit, confidence and self-expression, not price alone.

As customers discover fashion through more channels, including AI agents, Zalando Plus is intended to help them remain in control of their own style journey while making the experience more useful and rewarding.

Zalando is also expanding the Plus partner ecosystem. After introducing Wolt+ delivery benefits earlier this year, the company is now adding Spotify to the programme.

Across all 17 Zalando Plus markets, members who are new to Spotify Premium can unlock up to five months of Premium, depending on their Plus level.

Batievskaya said Spotify builds on the direction started with Wolt+, bringing Zalando Plus into more everyday moments. While Wolt+ connects to convenience, including food and grocery delivery, Spotify adds a more emotional and cultural dimension.

Fashion and music are closely connected, she said, with music often shaping mood, style and self-expression. Albums, tours and cultural moments around artists can influence what people search for, wear and discuss.

Zalando Plus has already connected members to music-related experiences, including opportunities to win tickets to a Beyoncé concert, Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona and Star Academy in Paris.

Batievskaya said Spotify fits this direction by bringing Plus closer to moments of inspiration, culture and personal expression. As shopping becomes more AI-driven, such benefits help demonstrate the wider value of a customer’s relationship with Zalando beyond a single product purchase.

Zalando also expects loyalty to become more visible in AI-powered shopping journeys, including those involving external AI agents.

Batievskaya said loyalty should not sit separately from the shopping experience. Whether customers use Zalando’s own AI-powered experiences or discover products through outside assistants, Zalando Plus should remain part of the value they see during the journey.

On Zalando, this can mean integrating Plus benefits directly into AI-powered shopping moments. For example, Plus members using the Zalando Assistant can receive guidance based on preferences and shopping history, while relevant Plus benefits such as premium delivery, rewards or access are reflected in the experience.

Beyond Zalando’s own platform, the company is preparing for a future in which AI agents and merchant systems can work together more smoothly. Zalando is one of the first European businesses to endorse Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, with the ambition that the full value of Zalando, including Plus benefits, can be visible at the right moment wherever the customer journey begins.

At the same time, Zalando Plus is intended to remain a reason for customers to come directly to Zalando. Batievskaya said customers will continue to value trust-building services such as reliable delivery, convenient payment options, relevant rewards, easy returns and benefits they can genuinely use.

As loyalty becomes more personal, Batievskaya said brands should remember that technology is only the delivery mechanism. The customer relationship still has to be earned.

Brands should look beyond immediate transactions and consider the wider ways customers engage, including how they spend time with a brand, save items, explore content and interact with native tools.

She said AI can help brands make customers feel seen, valued and understood, provided it is used responsibly and with respect for boundaries. When done well, this gives customers stronger reasons to return directly and build a lasting relationship over time.

About Zalando

Founded in Berlin in 2008, Zalando is the leading European technology platform for fashion and lifestyle. Connecting 62 million active customers with more than 7,000 brands across 29 markets, our business is built on a unique AI-powered data and infrastructure platform. For our customers, our multi-app approach – comprising Zalando, ABOUT YOU, and Lounge by Zalando – delivers an inspiring, highly personalized shopping experience, serving different customers with different needs. For our partners, we are building the operating system for e-commerce. Through ZEOS, Tradebyte, and SCAYLE, we open our logistics, software, and service capabilities to brands and retailers, enabling them to seamlessly scale their businesses across borders.

For further information, please visit: corporate.zalando.com/en

Media Contact:

Corporate Communications
press@zalando.com

SOURCE: Zalando