Ahead of the 2013 elections, Peer Steinbrück included Zypries in his shadow cabinet for the Social Democrats’ campaign to unseat incumbent Angela Merkel as chancellor. During the campaign, Zypries served as shadow minister for consumer protection. In the negotiations to form a so-called Grand Coalition following the elections, she led the SPD delegation in the working group on digital policy; her co-chair was Dorothee Bär of the CSU.