Seasonal timeline and season switch

To ensure our customers always see fresh, relevant articles, we follow a seasonal timeline. A season switch is the process of transitioning from the current sales season to a new one.

This article explains how our seasonal timeline works and what you need to do to prepare for a season switch.

Zalando follows a seasonal timeline with two main sales seasons:

• Autumn Winter (AW): Onboarding starts in May and ends in February.

• Spring Summer (SS): Onboarding starts in November and ends in August.

A current season is an ongoing sales season. Seasonal articles are onboarded during a specific season with its corresponding season code and year.

For example: In May 2025, you can onboard articles with either AW25 or SS25 season codes.

These articles will be in our catalogues and can be sold at their regular price.

Once a sales season ends, the articles from that season are categorised as old season articles. These articles can only be sold in the sale section if they meet a minimum discount (see table below). The minimum discount is checked regularly.

If your old season articles don't have the required discount, they'll be deactivated and flagged as ZABLO_01: Old Season Cleaning on Article listing on zDirect. 

We'll reactivate the articles and make them available for sale again once we see that the discount requirement is met.

A season switch is the process of transitioning from the current sales season to a new season in the catalogues. During this transition, articles from the previous season are categorised as old and shifted to the sales section, subject to a minimum discount rate. This ensures a fresh, seasonally appropriate assortment for customers on the platform. 

Season switch takes place twice a year:

• AW changes to SS around February 

• SS changes to AW around August 

The exact dates for a season switch vary by market and depend on factors such as market needs and weather conditions. We’ll always inform you of the final dates through Zalando Partner University and by email.

Between each season switch the main season will gradually start to become the old season. Please check back regularly for updates on the exact dates for season switch and to see when the main season starts being the old season. 

Here are the upcoming season switch dates and the minimum discount rates for old season articles:

Once the season switch is complete, here’s what happens to your articles:

• AW25 articles become the main season and are actively marketed to customers.

• AW24 and SS25 articles are considered old and move to the sale section. They must have a minimum discount to stay online and can remain online for a maximum of one year from the switch date.

• SS24 articles will be completely off-boarded and no longer for sale.

In addition to seasonal articles, you can also onboard articles as:

• Year-Round-Basics (YRB)

• Spring/Summer Basics (SS_Basics) are popular during multiple summer seasons

• Autumn/Winter Basics (AW_Basics) are popular during multiple winter seasons

For example: A white T-shirt is a YRB, while a bikini is an SS_Basics article, and a black turtleneck sweater is an AW_Basics article.

Basics or YRB articles need ongoing stock replenishment to meet customer needs. They don't need to be discounted or retagged when a season ends. We have a monthly review process to monitor stock levels and customer demand for these articles.

• A season switch moves old season articles into the sale section and makes the new season’s articles the main assortment.

• Old season articles must meet a minimum discount rate to stay online.

• You can keep articles in the main catalogue by retagging them.

• YRB articles are a year-round option that don’t require discounting or retagging.