Retailer Zalando launches AI shopping agent as margins squeezed
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
PARIS, Nov 3 : Top European online fashion retailer Zalando on Tuesday launched its first AI shopping agent amid concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt online retail, after reporting third-quarter gross margin below market expectations.
Shares in the German company fell 5 per cent in early trading.
Zalando reported a gross profit margin of 38.7 per cent in the quarter, missing expectations partly due to investments, analysts at Jefferies and JPMorgan said in notes to clients.
The industry is facing disruption from so-called agentic commerce, in which autonomous AI agents execute the full purchase cycle for goods, from price comparison across multiple retailers to payment, on behalf of human shoppers.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
"The stock could drift lower in the coming days given the lack of any incremental positives, in our view, and its current level, along with ongoing structural risk from agentic commerce development," JPMorgan said.
As shoppers increasingly use AI to compare prices, check product availability and get recommendations, retailers are racing to adopt AI tools to remain competitive and expand the range of products available on their platforms.
JOINING THE AGENTIC COMMERCE RACE
Zalando said it would launch Zalando Extended, a platform where users will buy products from other online shops using AI agents on the Zalando app, with a pilot in collaboration with home retailer Westwing.
"Our shift to a platform business model is accelerating, with our partner business and retail media growing at a double-digit rate and B2B revenue up almost 28 per cent," Zalando finance chief Anna Dimitrova said in a statement.
Zalando sells clothes, shoes and accessories from thousands of brands including Nike, Hugo Boss, and Coach.
It said its third-quarter revenues grew 5.1 per cent year-on-year to €3.17 billion ($3.55 billion), above the €3.15 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Gross merchandise value, a metric measuring the value of all goods sold, rose 7.5 per cent to €4.54 billion.
($1 = 0.8937 euros)
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app