Zalando: set up a promotion (pricing v2)

This article describes how to set up promotional prices on Zalando using pricing v2.

Table of contents

Introduction

Interactive demos

• Set up price mappings 
• Set up a start and end date 

Setup

• Step 1: enable promotional mode
• Step 2: map the promotional price
• Step 3: add start and end dates (optional)
• Step 4: allow promotion below Min. price (optional)

Map your regular price

FAQs

Introduction

Zalando's promotions allow you to apply discounts or special offers to your products. You can use them to sell excess stock, attract new customers, or increase sales volume.

To set up promotional prices on Zalando:

1. Map Zalando's promotional price attributes (required) - provide values for Zalando promo price that are exported to Zalando.
2. Set up ChannelEngine promotions (optional) - set a start and end date by creating a temporary price reduction in Pricing, Promotions. 

The setup process differs between pricing v1 and v2. If you are using pricing v1, check out Zalando: promo prices pricing v1 (microlearning). 

Requirements

Pricing v2 is required to use this feature. Pricing v1 will be deprecated soon. If you currently use pricing v1, activate pricing v2 before you continue:

1. In the Pricing step of a given channel, click Configuration mode to start configuring pricing v2 while pricing v1 stays active.
2. When you are ready to fully switch to pricing v2, reach out to the Support team to activate pricing v2 on the respective channel(s).

• Your product and its regular price are accepted and listed on Zalando. For instructions on how to map your regular price, check out Map your regular price.

Interactive demos

Set up price mappings for the promotion

Set up a start and end date for the promotion

Setup

Step 1: enable promotional mode

Promotional mode defines how Zalando receives changes to your regular price when you also export a promotional price. You must select the appropriate promotional mode to avoid errors from Zalando when you export your offers.

Note that promotions can only be set if your product and its regular price already exist on Zalando. Also, you can update either the regular price or the promotional price at a time, not both simultaneously.

To enable promotional mode:

1. Go to Mappings, Offer mappings.

2. Find the Promo mode [country] attribute.
    

   

3. Choose one of the following options:
   • Dynamic promo - recommended for most setups; uses the Promo price [country] if the offer exists on Zalando, ignoring regular price changes. If not, the regular price applies with no promotion.
   • Force promo - uses the Promo price [country] and ignores regular price changes. The regular price can't increase for promotion. Ensure the offer exists on Zalando to avoid errors.
   • Skip promo - excludes the product from Zalando promotions, even if Promo price [country] is set. The regular price is exported instead.
   • Regular - uses Promo price [country] and allows regular price increases. Changing both promo and regular prices simultaneously causes errors.

Step 2: map the promotional price

To avoid errors, configure promotional prices only after the product and its regular price have been exported and successfully created on Zalando.

1. Verify that Zalando has accepted your regular selling price.
2. To set up your promotional price, go to Pricing, Price rules.
3. Select which products to assign the promo price in Product selection overrides.
4. Locate the promotional price tab (e.g.: Promo price NL in EUR). This Zalando-specific attribute must be lower than the regular price for that country.
5. Map the price attribute using two fields: Min. price and Base price, like with the regular price. ChannelEngine exports the higher value—usually the Base price. Ensure the value here is lower than the Base price in your regular price mapping.
   • The override price cannot go below the Min. price defined in the Price rules tab. E.g.: if Min. price is EUR 30, and you set a promo price NL in EUR of EUR 27, ChannelEngine exports EUR 30 instead. 
   • To allow your promotional price to fall below your Min. price, set up a lower promotional price in Pricing, Promotions. ChannelEngine exports the price from Pricing, Promotions, in this case. Check out Step 4: allow promotion below Min. price.
6. Set up a promotional price for each Zalando country where a discount is offered.

Step 3: add start and end dates (optional)

Optionally, timebox your promotion with start and end dates. If you do not specify start and end dates, your promotional prices remain active until you manually unmap your promotional prices. 

To set up start and end dates for your promotion:

1. Go to Pricing, Promotions.
2. In the Promotions tab, create a promotion by following the steps in the article ChannelEngine: promotions. 
3. Set up the promotion's name, define the start and end date, and select the products to be included in the promotion - the same products that you mapped to your promotional price. 

Step 4: allow promotion below Min. price (optional)

To allow your promotional price to go below the Min. price, set up your lower promotional price for your products in the Promotions tab when you set up your start and end dates. 

Then, explicitly allow ChannelEngine to export promotional prices that go below your designated Min. price:

1. Go to Mappings, Offer mappings.
2. Find the Allow promotion below Min. price attribute.
3. Set its value to true.

Map your regular price

Before you start mapping any promotional prices, make sure that Zalando has reviewed and accepted your products' regular prices. 

To set up your regular prices:

1. Go to Pricing, Price rules.
2. Find the country-specific price attribute (e.g.: Price NL in EUR). This is your regular selling price, and all reductions are displayed as discounts from this price.
3. Set a regular price for each Zalando country in which the article is offered for sale. E.g.: Zalando DE, Zalando ES.

4. Map the price attribute with both Min. price and Base price. This ensures the price does not drop below the minimum you set. Note that ChannelEngine exports the higher of the two values –  typically the Base price. To learn more, check out the article ChannelEngine: price rules v2.

   NB: Zalando must first receive and accept the regular selling price before a promotional price can be applied. Do not set up your promotional price at the same time as the regular price.

   

FAQs

What happens when the promotion end date is reached?
If the promotion is created on the Promotions tab with an end date, the promotional price applies only during the configured period. Once the end date is reached, the price reverts to the regular price. You do not need to unmap Promo mode or manually clear the promotion for the price to revert.

If you do not create a promotion with start and end dates, the mapped Promo price remains active until you remove or change the Promo price mapping.

How should I map Promo mode?
Dynamic promo is the recommended option because it avoids common Zalando validation issues. Dynamic promo uses the Promo price only when the offer already exists on Zalando. If the offer does not exist yet, ChannelEngine exports the regular price instead and does not apply a promotion. 

To set your promo mode attribute to Dynamic promo:

1. Go to Mappings, Offer mappings.
2. Find the Promo mode [country] attribute.
3. Select Dynamic promo as your option.

Why is my discount showing as a regular price reduction instead of a promotion?
This usually happens when the discounted price is mapped to the regular Price [country] field instead of the Promo price [country] field. In that case, Zalando receives a lower regular price and does not treat it as a promotion or strikethrough discount.

To resolve this and set up a promotion:

1. In Pricing, Price rules, put the full price back in Price [country].
2. Wait until the corrected regular price is exported to Zalando.
3. Configure the discounted price in Promo price [country].
4. Be aware that Zalando may temporarily block promotional prices if the regular price was changed recently.

Why does Zalando reject my promotion after I changed the regular price?
Zalando may block promotional price updates if the regular price has been changed recently (i.e.: in the previous 10 days). If price updates are blocked, ChannelEngine cannot override the Zalando restriction.

To resolve this, wait until Zalando allows the promotional price again, or contact Zalando to ask if they can remove the blocker.

Is it possible to set multiple promotions at Pricing, Promotions for the same product?
You can create different promotions for the same product, but the promotion dates must not overlap. If the dates overlap, you cannot set multiple promotions.