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Zalando’s revenue rose 5.1% to €3.17 billion in the third quarter, while gross merchandise volume increased 7.5% to €4.54 billion. B2B revenue grew nearly 28%, and adjusted EBIT more than doubled in the division, but the group’s year-on-year gross-margin contraction drew analyst attention. Zalando maintained its full-year 2026 guidance.
Zalando’s third-quarter revenue rose 5.1% to €3.17 billion, as the German online fashion platform’s business-to-business division expanded and group gross merchandise volume increased 7.5% to €4.54 billion. The results, reported Tuesday for the three months ended Sept. 30, included a wider adjusted EBIT margin, but a year-on-year decline in gross margin drew scrutiny from analysts. Zalando kept its full-year 2026 guidance unchanged.
B2B revenue increased nearly 28% to €354.4 million, according to the company. The division, which provides services including logistics, marketing and analytics, generated adjusted EBIT of €42.2 million, more than twice the year-earlier level. Its adjusted EBIT margin reached 11.9%. Zalando said its software unit Scayle added enterprise customers in the United States and the United Kingdom, while its Zeos Fulfilment business won clients including Champion, LC Waikiki and Lascana.
At group level, adjusted EBIT margin increased to 3.4% from 3.2% a year earlier. Zalando attributed support to lower fulfillment costs, synergies from integrating About You and B2B growth. Synergies reached the “mid-teens millions of euros” in the quarter, the company said. Targeted spending on customer offers and marketing partly offset those benefits, Chief Financial Officer Anna Dimitrova said on the earnings call.
Consumer activity also grew. Active customers reached a record 63.2 million, up 2.9% year on year, while average spend per customer rose 2.9% to €308. Zalando said partner products made up 33.6% of business-to-consumer GMV, an increase of 2.9 percentage points year on year. Retail media revenue rose nearly 18%, and both partner business and retail media grew at double-digit rates.
The company also announced Zalando Extended, an AI-powered service intended to let users search for products from other online shops within the Zalando app. German home and lifestyle retailer Westwing is the pilot partner. Zalando said it plans to start with categories such as bulky home goods and add products from more shops over time.
B2B Growth Adds a Second Engine
The results show why Zalando is investing beyond sales made directly through its consumer retail operation. Its B2B services grew faster than group revenue and produced an 11.9% adjusted EBIT margin in the quarter. If that expansion continues, services for brands and retailers could contribute more to earnings while connecting the company’s platform to a broader range of businesses.
The consumer figures offer a separate measure of the platform’s reach: Zalando reported record active customers, higher average spend and growth in partner products and retail media. Those results matter to brands using the platform to reach shoppers. However, the gross-margin decline shows that stronger sales and lower fulfillment costs did not remove every pressure on profitability. The source report does not give the gross-margin figure or quantify the contraction.
The market response was mixed. Zalando shares briefly rose 4.6% to €27.51 at the market open, then were down 6.58% by mid-afternoon, according to the source report. That movement records trading during the day; it does not establish a single explanation for investors’ reaction.
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About You Integration and Platform Plans
Zalando acquired former rival About You in July 2025. In the earnings call, Dimitrova said the integration was “progressing well” and continuing to improve profitability in line with recent quarters. The company said integration synergies supported the third-quarter result, alongside lower fulfillment costs and B2B growth.
The company is also extending its app beyond its own and partner-shop assortment. Zalando said more than 22 million unique users had visited the Zalando Assistant this year. Dimitrova said monthly active users of the assistant had increased fivefold year on year, while high-value actions such as adding items to a basket had risen sevenfold. She also said customers using the assistant during a shopping journey were twice as likely to complete a purchase. Those are company-reported figures; the report does not provide the underlying methodology.
Zalando said Zalando Extended could give participating shops access to its customers without complex technical integration or changes to their logistics. Its rollout is planned to begin with bulky home products. The company also said its Zalando Plus loyalty program had more than 22 million members across 17 markets, with new benefits from partners including Duolingo and Spotify.
Gross Margin and AI Adoption Questions
The source report says gross margin contracted year on year, but does not state the margin percentage or the size of the decline. It also does not detail how much of the change came from investment in offers and marketing, product mix, or other factors. Wild said stronger B2B growth and investments contributed to pressure, while sneaker clearances helped keep inventories under control; those are his interpretations of the quarter.
Zalando has not disclosed in the supplied report how much revenue or profit Zalando Extended is expected to generate, when it will be available beyond the pilot, or how many retailers may join. The company’s reported assistant engagement and purchase-conversion comparisons are not accompanied here by a description of the measurement period or methodology. The quarter’s results likewise do not show whether recent customer and B2B growth will persist through the holiday season.
Holiday Trading and 2026 Targets
Zalando said it was focused on maintaining momentum through Cyber Week and the Christmas holiday season. The company confirmed its 2026 guidance: reported GMV and revenue growth in the lower half of a 12% to 17% range, and adjusted EBIT of €680 million to €720 million. Dimitrova said Zalando remained confident it could reach the midpoint of its adjusted EBIT guidance.
Investors and retailers will be watching subsequent results for evidence that customer growth, the About You integration and B2B expansion continue to support earnings, and for more detail on the gross-margin trend. The source report gives no further date for the next update on Zalando Extended or its wider rollout.
Key Questions
How much did Zalando’s revenue rise in the third quarter?
Revenue increased 5.1% to €3.17 billion in the three months ended Sept. 30. Gross merchandise volume rose 7.5% to €4.54 billion.
How quickly did Zalando’s B2B business grow?
B2B revenue rose nearly 28% to €354.4 million. The division reported adjusted EBIT of €42.2 million and an adjusted EBIT margin of 11.9%.
Did Zalando change its full-year 2026 guidance?
No. Zalando confirmed its existing outlook: reported GMV and revenue growth in the lower half of its 12% to 17% range, and adjusted EBIT of €680 million to €720 million.
What is Zalando Extended?
Zalando Extended is a planned AI-powered service that will let users search for products from other online shops through the Zalando app. Westwing is the pilot partner, with the initial rollout planned to include categories such as bulky home goods.
What concern did analysts raise about the results?
Analysts noted that gross margin contracted year on year, contrary to expectations described in the source report. The report does not specify the size of the decline; Jefferies analyst Frederick Wild said better-than-expected fulfillment costs offset it at the EBIT level.
Source: wwd.com
