REGISTER first on Eventbrite:https://searsdevchallengesea.eventbrite.com

How to Enter

Steps

Register on Eventbrite

Register on ChallengePost

Eligibility

Questions?

 

How to Start

Find Teammates

Challenges

Sears APIs

Partner APIs & SDK

Sears Assets

Questions?

How to Win

Submit

Submission Requirements

Judges & Judging Criteria

Demo Specs

Questions?

 

Startups and Developers, spend the weekend working on what matters to you – building out your product or idea – and win up to $20K in cash and resources from one of the largest retailers in the US. Sears challenges you to innovate in retail around reviews, baby purchases, post purchase support, and its PartsDirect catalog. For startups, there is even more skin in the game with the opportunity to walk away with Sears as a customer. Imagine what your company could achieve in partnership with Sears and its millions of shoppers.

Agenda

Please feel free to form teams or begin hacking before the start of the event. The Sears team will be available throughout the weekend to discuss your ideas and answer any questions about the APIs.

Friday, July 24: Hackathon Kickoff (Mandatory)

6:00pm Registration & Reception
7:00pm Welcome with Sears
7:10pm Sears Challenges, APIs, Prizes
7:30pm Technical Partner APIs and Prizes
8:00pm Rules & Submissions
8:10pm Team Formation
Bring your ideas to pitch.
9:00pm End of Day
Go home and rest.

Startup Hall will be open 24hrs from 9am Saturday through the end of the hackathon on Sunday for you to work.

Saturday, July 25: Hackathon, Day 2

9:00am

Late Registration & Breakfast

12:00pm

Lunch & Check-in

3:00pm

Snack

6:00pm

Dinner & Check-in

Sunday, July 26: Hackathon, Day 3

9:00am

Breakfast

12:00pm

Submission Deadline & Lunch

1:00pm

Demos

3:30pm

Judging Deliberation

4:00pm

Award Presentation

4:30pm

End of Day

Challenges 

Shopping Cart

Path to Purchase

Target Area: Mobile & Social Commerce
Mobile and social continue to revolutionize e-commerce and provide new purchasing channels for consumers. How can Sears lead in these spaces to create unique and powerful experiences for its customers? What tools would empower buyers to discover the products they love and make better purchasing decisions?

Star

Beyond the Buy

Target Area: Post Purchase Support
The sale may end at the checkout screen, but the brand experience does not. How can technology help Sears improve the post-purchase experience and help them to continue to engage with their members in a valuable way? What experience will inspire customers to share the Sears brand with their friends and keep them coming back for more?

Sears APIs

Head to the Sears Developer Site and explore their APIs: https://developer.sears.com/

Sears has the following API categories for you to use for your app:

  • Product Search
  • Product Detail
  • Top Sellers
  • Deals
  • Store Information
  • Local Inventory

Sign up on the Sears Developer Site now – Register before the hackathon starts to get approval and receive your API key to get started.

Download logos, fonts, and images to make your submission look and feel like Sears.

Questions? Email apisupport@searshc.com.

Partner APIs & SDK

Note: All apps must use a Sears API to be eligible for any technical partner prizes.

Apigee

Prize: $1,000 

For utilizing Apigee 127 to build the best "new" API which mashes up multiple APIs. The new API must use at least one Sears API.

Apigee makes it easy for developers to build and manage APIs to expose data and services using Node.js and Swagger, as well as leverage the power of a Backend-as-a-Service with a noSQL database, analytics, mobile-oriented features such as push notifications, user management and more. Apigee-127 is a toolkit for modeling & building rich, enterprise-class APIs in Node.js on your laptop. The focal point of Apigee-127 is the Swagger 2.0 specification for defining and describing an API model. From the Swagger model you can generate clients, servers and interactive documentation for your API.

Get started at http://developers.apigee.com

For complete information: https://github.com/apigee-127/a127-documentation/wiki

Prize: Craftsman ToolSet

For the best utilization of the Apptentive SDK.

Apptentive is the leading enterprise SaaS platform for mobile customer communications. The company's in-app messages, surveys, and intelligent rating prompts empower brands to build meaningful relationships with their customers, wherever they may be. Integrated into mobile apps including Allrecipes, Concur, Intercontinental Hotels Group, Overstock, and Urbanspoon, Apptentive's software makes it easy for any company with a mobile app to grow retention, boost app store ratings, drive downloads, and earn customer loyalty.

To use the SDK, sign up for the Apptentive 30 day trial at https://be.apptentive.com/register/sign_up

Demo Specifications

Demo AV will be available to test on starting at 11am on Sunday.

Remember that you only have 3 minutes to demo your application. The judges are basing their scores on this demo so make sure you practice and use your time wisely.

Laptops: HDMI, Thunderbolt

iOS: AirPlay Mirroring with Apple TV (Setup)

Android: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean or later with Miracast (Setup)

If your presentation falls out of the above specifications, please email or connect with the BrandGarage team as soon as possible.

Demo Dos and Don'ts

  • DO practice your demo.
  • DO watch the clock. 3 minutes. We will buzz you off!
  • DO show us your app. DON'T just tell us about it
  • DON'T waste time - what's important to know?
  • DON'T troubleshoot on stage, just try to move on.

Eligibility

  • Participants: Individuals (18 years or older; under 18 with parental permission); Teams; Companies (self-funded startups to Series A).
  • Exclusions: Employees of Sears or its affiliates

Requirements

  1. All submissions must be made by 12:00pm July 26th or the alternative deadline published on the day
  2. All submissions must make use of at least one of Sears APIs (excludes Parts Direct API).
  3. All submissions must fit into one of the challenge categories.
  4. All submissions and demos must include a working (coded) prototype (mobile or software application, website, etc.). No slideware permitted.
  5. All submissions must be demoed live to the judge panel between 1pm and 3pm on July 26th.
  6. All submissions must keep to the 3-minute time parameters outlined for demos.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$21,000 in prizes

Company Track Grand Prize

Independent Track Grand Prize

Runner-up Prize (4)

Apigee Prize (2)

$500
For utilizing Apigee 127 to build the best "new" API which mashes up multiple APIs. The new API must use at least one Sears API.

Apptentive Prize

Craftsman ToolSet
For the best utilization of the Apptentive SDK.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

  1. Register to attend the SEARS Retail Hackathon on Eventbrite.
  2. Sign-up on ChallengePost to post questions and work on your submission.
  3. Find teammates or work by yourself.
  4. Select one or more challenges to enter your submission under.
  5. Register for a Sears API key.
  6. View and select additional API partners for a chance to win additional prizes.
  7. Submit your working (coded) prototype on ChallengePost by 12pm on Sunday, July 26.
  8. Demo live in front of the judges 1-3:30pm on Sunday, July 26.

Judges

Andy Chu

Andy Chu
DVP, Mobile & Community Experiences, Sears Holdings

Brian Fling

Brian Fling
Co-Founder & Designer, Opus

Robi Ganguly

Robi Ganguly
CEO, Apptentive

Edward Schmit

Edward Schmit
Executive Director, AT&T Mobility

Aya Zook

Aya Zook
Principal, Microsoft Ventures

Judging Criteria

  • Audience Engagement (35%)
    How does the user interface inspire engagement? How does it leverage social elements? How does it use the mobile device (SMS, MMS, contact list, calendar, etc.) to create appropriate engagement?
  • Challenge (25%)
    How well does the solution meet the different elements of the challenge? How does the solution make use of the Sears APIs?
  • Feasibility (25%)
    How scalable and market-ready is the solution? How practical is it to execute against in market? Is there a working prototype?
  • Originality (15%)
    Is this truly an original solution that would help showcase Sears as an innovator? Will this create excitement among the shopper community?

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