Artificial intelligence is changing how consumers search for clothes and other fashion products online. Instead of looking only for a specific model or colour, shoppers are increasingly asking for recommendations tailored to an occasion or a particular need, while virtual fitting tools are becoming more widely used. Zalando says around 10 million customers used its digital assistant in the first quarter of 2026, while its AI-based size and fit tools helped prevent 8% of returns linked to incorrect sizing in 2025.
“Artificial intelligence is changing everything, and for our 62 million customers it is very important that we accompany them throughout the shopping journey,” Alejandro Saucedo, Director of AI, Data and Platform in Zalando’s Markets division, told Newseria. He said customers are increasingly moving away from simple searches such as finding black shoes and instead asking what to wear for a particular occasion or in a specific place.
According to a McKinsey study from December 2025, 38% of consumers in France, Germany and the United Kingdom used AI when searching for products and services or making purchasing decisions. Among people using AI in the shopping process, 63% used it to compare brands, models, prices and reviews, 55% to gather information about products and categories, and 46% to discover new products and look for inspiration.
A Polish e-commerce report prepared by PBI, IAB Polska, Kozminski University and the university’s Centre for Media and Society Research found that half of Polish internet users use AI at some point in the purchasing process, with 19% doing so frequently.
AI is becoming part of the fitting process
One of the biggest challenges in online fashion remains product returns. Zalando estimates that in European online fashion retail as much as around 50% of ordered products can be returned, with size and fit problems potentially responsible for half of those returns. For jeans, the return rate can reach 65%.
Zalando has been developing size and fit solutions since 2018. They now cover around 70% of the platform’s assortment, while more than 1.5 million customers have used a tool that estimates body measurements from photos or video. The company says its Size & Fit solutions prevented 8% of size-related returns in 2025. In virtual fitting room pilots, return rates were lower by as much as 40%.
Saucedo said the company is investing in the entire shopping journey, not only product discovery. AI is being used to help customers assess whether an item will fit after delivery and to improve recommendations before purchase.
AI is also changing how fashion content is produced
Zalando is using artificial intelligence to prepare fashion and trend-related content. The company says 90% of marketing content on its website is generated with AI. AI-supported workflows have shortened the production cycle from six to eight weeks to just a few days.
According to Zalando, richer product content increases customer engagement by around 10%, while shoppers who watch product videos are three times more likely to make a purchase.
The company says its long-term investment in data infrastructure is a key part of this strategy. At the same time, Zalando stresses that privacy and regulatory compliance remain central to how it develops AI-based services in Europe.
Online fashion remains one of Europe’s largest e-commerce categories
Clothing, footwear and accessories are the most frequently purchased category of goods online in the European Union. Eurostat data show that in 2024 they were bought by 70% of people who had shopped online during the previous three months.
In Poland, online sales accounted for 25.2% of retail sales of textiles, clothing and footwear in 2025. For total retail sales, the internet’s share was 9.1%.
Zalando is also expanding infrastructure for partner brands. Its SCAYLE platform is designed to help retailers operate online without rebuilding their entire technology stack, while ZEOS provides logistics infrastructure across multiple sales channels.
In 2026, ZEOS was available in 27 markets and supported 28 sales channels, including Zalando, other marketplaces and brands’ own online stores. Zalando says its wider modular operating system, which includes ZEOS, SCAYLE and Tradebyte, serves more than 1,200 merchants in Europe and supports goods with a combined sales value of around EUR 11 billion.
Source: Newseria Biznes.
