Hackathons are no longer limited to the technology companies as Hack The High Street set to tackle challenges set by high street retailers.
Last weekend, over 100 developers, designers, entrepreneurs as well as established companies and early stage startups gathered to build products aimed at high street retail. This event was hosted by Birdback, a card-linking and retail technology startup, in partnership with Vendorcom and was sponsored by American Express.
The event kicked off on Saturday morning 9th of November with keynotes from Birdback, Harris + Hoole, The Kingfisher Group and Mark & Spencer. Each retailer highlighted some of the latest innovations taking place within their verticals and some challenges they are facing as retailers with high street presence. These included topics around the importance of sustainability, improving customer experience in-store, improving click and collect and the retail experience as a whole.
Following the keynotes 15 teams were formed, which worked tirelessly through the weekend to build their products from the ground up and present before a panel of judges.
The team from American Express was awarded first place. This final product was an interactive advertising product that would work based on facial recognition and adjusted its content and message depending on the viewers' physical distant from the advertisement. Judging the products were innovation representatives from Marks & Spencer, Harris + Hoole and the Kingfisher group.
Nicolai Watzenig, CEO of Birdback said " The success of the event proves that established retailers understand the value in working with innovative startups and are so hands on in implementing new technologies. We saw great examples of teams innovatively combining technology from both the payments and retail sectors to solve real world customer problems."
Danielle Anderson from Harris + Hoole said "As a new speciality coffee brand in a crowded marketplace, innovation that drives a more enhanced customer experience is critical to help stand out from the competition. Forums like the Hackathon are not only a great way to discover fresh ideas, but also inspire us to continually challenge our own ways of thinking."