Zalando also ends free delivery in UK, Ireland and Spain

Zalando is introducing shipping costs in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain. The German fashion giant has taken this step after an earlier test in Italy. Although Zalando claims there are no plans to further expand this measure, it seems like the end of an era.

Half a year after Zalando asked for shipping costs for the first time, in Italy, the fashion company is now ending free delivery in more European countries. Customers in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain will now have to pay a couple of euros on orders under a certain value.

Delivery fees in the UK, Ireland and Spain

In the United Kingdom, Zalando’s customers need to pay 3 pounds for orders that are below 19.90 pounds. In Ireland and Spain, customers need to pay respectively 3 and 3.50 euros for orders that are worth less than 24.90 euros.

The new policies seem to mark the end of an era. Zalando was one of the first major companies in Europe who tried to attract new customers by offering free shipping and returns. But after all these years of happy ordering, customers now need to pay a few euros for having their shoes, clothing and accessories shipped to them. It seems like the costs of free shipping are not sustainable anymore for Zalando.

‘Other ecommerce companies will follow’

“There’s a turning point in terms of free shipping”, Els Breugelmans, an ecommerce expert from KU Leuven, tells Belgian newspaper De Tijd. “It’s typical that Zalando, the company that has changed the rules of the game in this sector, is now changing the rules again. Others will follow.”

A Zalando spokesperson said there are no plans to introduce shipping costs for small packages in other countries, but as De Tijd points out that has also been said after the first tests in Italy.