ZMS turns 10: How Zalando’s retail media unit helps fashion and lifestyle brands grow across Europe

Zalando Partner Marketing Services (ZMS), Zalando’s in-house retail media unit, turns 10 this summer. Over the past decade, ZMS has consistently powered more than 3,700 brand partnerships and run over 80,000 campaigns, evolving into a full-service marketing platform, one that plays a central role in Zalando’s transformation into a connected fashion and lifestyle ecosystem.

We spoke with Joanna Rogers, Managing Director of ZMS, about how the business has grown, what brands need today, and where retail media in fashion and lifestyle is heading next.

Joanna, ZMS is celebrating 10 years. How would you describe its evolution?

When we launched ZMS, retail media was already highly effective at driving performance and boosting sales through sponsored ads. Since then, we’ve significantly expanded our capabilities by combining data, creativity, and cultural relevance to support brands across the entire marketing funnel. As a brand it’s essential to engage the customer at every stage of their journey. Whether it’s driving awareness or converting interest into sales, we tailor each campaign to our partners’ specific objectives, helping them reach and engage customers in the moments that matter most.

What hasn’t changed is our belief in customer-centricity. Everything we do is grounded in insights, and during those 10 years, we’ve built a platform that now handles over 86 million viewable ad impressions per day, powering campaigns that are both efficient and deeply relevant.

What makes ZMS different from traditional retail media?

Retail media has grown rapidly, but few players can deliver both strong brand storytelling and tangible commercial results.

That’s where ZMS focus continues. We’re exceptional at driving lower funnel performance in fashion and lifestyle space, helping brands drive sales through smart targeting and effective ad placements. But we also go beyond conversion. With a highly engaged base of over 52 million active Zalando customers across 25 European markets, we offer partners the ability to connect meaningfully across the entire funnel, whether the goal is awareness, consideration or conversion.

In 2024 alone, we ran over 26,000 campaigns spanning a range of formats, from high-impact sponsored ads driving sales to creative initiatives designed to inspire and build brand affinity. All campaigns are grounded in deep customer insights, enabling brands to connect effectively with customers who come to both shop and discover, engage, and be inspired.

A great example of what can be possible with a full-funnel retail media approach is our collaboration with Vans as part of Zalando’s SS25 campaign. This campaign combined influencer content, onsite placements, and editorial storytelling to reach a younger, style-savvy audience and drove double-digit growth in product engagement, strong uplifts in brand perception, and measurable increases in customer acquisition. This campaign clearly shows that retail media, when done right, can connect cultural storytelling with business performance. While not every brand activation takes this shape, it underscores how ZMS can create standout moments that merge brand building with real commercial impact.

How does ZMS support Zalando’s ambition to be the go-to destination for both inspiration and shopping in fashion and lifestyle?

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?