This is an exciting development for Zalando and a clear indicator of how AI is rapidly reshaping the e-commerce and marketing landscape. Here’s a deeper look into what this means:
Zalando Leaps Ahead with AI in Marketing: A Game-Changer for Fashion E-tail
Berlin, Germany – European fashion giant Zalando is dramatically accelerating its marketing efforts and slashing costs by embracing generative artificial intelligence (AI).1 The company is leveraging this cutting-edge technology to create visually rich content faster and more efficiently for its app and website, including the innovative development of “digital twins” of models.2
Speed and Cost-Efficiency: The Core Benefits
Zalando’s adoption of generative AI has led to astonishing improvements in its content production workflow.3 According to Matthias Haase, Vice President of Content Solutions at Zalando, the time required to produce marketing imagery has been reduced from a staggering six to eight weeks down to just three to four days.4 This represents an unprecedented acceleration, allowing Zalando to be incredibly reactive to fast-moving fashion trends that often originate and spread rapidly on social media.5
Beyond speed, the financial benefits are equally impressive. Haase reports a 90% reduction in costs associated with producing this imagery.6 For an industry traditionally reliant on expensive and logistically complex photoshoots involving large crews, models, stylists, and travel to various locations, this cost-saving is transformative.
Generative AI in Action: From Concept to Campaign
Approximately 70% of Zalando’s editorial campaign images in the fourth quarter of 2024 were AI-generated. This widespread adoption highlights the technology’s maturity and its integral role in Zalando’s marketing strategy. These AI-generated visuals have been crucial for illustrating the year’s biggest trends, such as “brat summer,” “mob wife,” and “double denim,” allowing Zalando to maintain relevance and currency with its customer base.7
The Rise of “Digital Twins”
A particularly innovative aspect of Zalando’s AI strategy is the development of “digital twins” of models. These are three-dimensional, AI-generated replicas of real-life models. Once a model is scanned or photographed, a precise digital twin can be created, replicating their movements, appearance, and the way garments drape and fit.8 This allows Zalando to:
- Eliminate repetitive photoshoots: Instead of needing to take hundreds of photos of a single model for different product pages or campaigns, the digital twin can be dressed in various outfits and posed digitally.9
- Ensure consistency: The same digital twin can be used across inspirational campaigns and specific product pages, creating a seamless and consistent visual experience for the customer.
- Increase flexibility: This technology provides immense flexibility for Zalando’s content team, allowing them to adapt quickly to new trends and produce a wide variety of visuals without the logistical constraints of traditional photoshoots.10
Zalando is collaborating with ORENDT STUDIOS, a photography studio, to create these 3D replicas, ensuring high-quality and accurate representations of garments. Other retailers, like H&M, have also begun to explore similar “digital twin” technology, signaling a broader industry shift.11
Impact on Creative Roles and the Future of Marketing
While the prospect of AI generating imagery might raise concerns about job displacement for fashion photographers and other creatives, Zalando emphasizes that the goal is not to replace human talent but to augment it.12 Matthias Haase suggests that AI empowers creative minds, giving them “six hands instead of two.”13 This means creatives can shift their focus from the laborious aspects of content production to more strategic, conceptual, and refinement roles.
The implications for e-commerce marketing are profound:
- Hyper-personalization: AI can analyze vast amounts of customer data to generate highly personalized content, improving engagement and conversion rates.14
- Real-time responsiveness: The ability to create content in days rather than weeks means brands can capitalize on fleeting trends and cultural moments.
- Budget optimization: Significant cost reductions allow marketing budgets to be reallocated to other strategic initiatives, such as enhancing customer experience or expanding into new markets.15
- Scalability: Generative AI enables the production of a massive volume of diverse content at scale, something previously unattainable with traditional methods.16
Zalando’s embrace of generative AI and digital twins marks a pivotal moment in fashion e-commerce. It demonstrates a clear path for retailers to achieve unprecedented speed, cost-efficiency, and creative flexibility in their marketing efforts, ultimately leading to more dynamic and relevant customer experiences. As AI tools become more sophisticated and accessible, it’s clear that adapting to this new paradigm will be essential for any brand aiming to stay competitive in the fast-paced digital fashion world.
