Season timeline and season switch

Zalando follows a seasonal timeline consisting of two sales seasons and the onboarding for:

• Autumn Winter (AW) starts in May and ends in February (ten months)

• Spring Summer (SS) starts in November and ends in August (ten months)

A current season refers to an ongoing sales season and seasonal articles are onboarded during that specific season with its corresponding season code and year. For example: In May 2024, articles can be onboarded with either SS24 or AW24 season codes, but not both.

The seasons overlap but a single article can only be created with one season code, depending on which season it belongs to.

Current season articles will be displayed in the catalogs and can be sold at their regular price. 

Once a sales season ends, the articles associated with the previous season are categorised as old season articles. These articles can only remain online in the sale section, subject to meeting a minimum discount rate.(for more information on the exact discount rates per market, have a look at the table provided below).

There is a regular process in place to check if the discount requirement has been fulfilled. Old season articles without sufficient discount will be deactivated, and flagged as ZABLO_01: Old Season Cleaning on the Article Listing in zDirect. 

Once we detect that the discount requirement is fulfilled, the articles will be reactivated and made available for sale again. 

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 is to ensure 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 actual dates of each season switch differ per market and are decided based on factors such as market needs, weather conditions etc. We will always ensure to  inform partners of the finalised dates through the ZPU and via email.

Below are the season switch per market dates from SS24 to AW24:

1. You can either take full advantage of the season switch by adapting your prices to the minimum discount before the official switch date listed on the above table per market. 

2. Or you simply pick the highest minimum discount rate across all the markets 

Article journey after the season switch per market date onwards: 

• AW24 articles will become the main season in the catalogs and be actively marketed to customers. 

• AW23 and SS24 articles will be considered as old and relocated to the sale section. To remain online, they must offer a minimum discount rate of 15% depending on the market mentioned above. They can stay online for a maximum of one year from the switch date.

• SS23 articles will be completely off-boarded and no longer for sale. 

In addition to seasonal articles, throughout the year you can also onboard your articles as:

• Year_Round_Basics (YRB), 

• Spring Summer_Basics (SS_Basics) 

or 

• Autumn Winter Basics (AW_Basics)

YRB articles are suitable for all seasons and exhibit a consistent customer demand all year round. On the other hand, SS/AW_Basics articles are in high demand across multiple summer or winter seasons.

For example: A white t-shirt would be considered a YRB, while a bikini would be specific to SS seasons, and a black turtleneck sweater would be specific to AW seasons. 

Basics or NOS articles require ongoing stock replenishment to meet customer needs. They don’t need to be discounted or retagged when a season ends. We have implemented a monthly review process to monitor stock levels and customer demand for these articles. You can find out more details here: 

• Season retagging