Zalando Harnesses Generative AI to Slash Campaign Costs and Speed Up Fashion Marketing

Zalando, the European online fashion retailer, announced it is using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate content production for its app and website, allowing it to respond quickly to viral fashion trends while cutting marketing costs by up to 90%.

According to Matthias Haase, VP of Content Solutions at Zalando, generative AI has reduced image production times from six to eight weeks down to just three to four days. The tech enables the brand to stay agile in an industry where fast reaction to fleeting trends—like “brat summer” or “mob wife”—can determine visibility and sales.

More than 70% of Zalando’s editorial campaign imagery in Q4 2024 was AI-generated, including content used in its trend recaps and seasonal promotions. The company is also developing AI-generated “digital twins” of human models, creating three-dimensional replicas for consistent visual use across product pages and campaigns without the need for repeated photo shoots.

“It’s not that AI content is better than human-created content,” Haase noted, “but it’s more timely and relevant to what customers care about now.”

Zalando joins a growing list of retailers integrating AI into their workflows. In March, H&M announced a similar initiative using digital twin technology developed with a modeling agency. The technology appeals especially to mid-tier retailers, offering an alternative to expensive, logistically intensive photo shoots favored by high-end fashion houses.

Asked about the impact of AI on creative jobs, Haase said that photographers and creatives will remain essential, but must adapt. “Creative minds now have, instead of two hands, six hands,” he said, emphasizing AI as a tool, not a replacement.