Abstract:

Zalando is a data-driven, successful online fashion platform. It traditionally relied on analytics and data-mining for market understanding; qualitative research was perceived as unreliable and expensive. While quantitative research was used to deliver global tracking metrics, it couldn't explain regional variations on one KPI: "likeability". What did likeability really mean in differing cultural contexts? By engaging in a 4 country online community in the Nordics, using a fun/projective technique - the value of qual. Research was established as the "yin" to the "yang" of behavioural data. The findings delivered a powerful company-wide understanding of Zalando the brand, plus a corresponding "meme". Personal experience was key in overcoming client stakeholder skepticism.