Behind the scenes
Digitec Galaxus Hackfest: 54 hours of work presented in 3 minutes
by Martin Jungfer
More AI, more price transparency – dispatches from Hackfest
12.6.2025
Translation: Katherine Martin
Ten thousand precious working hours went into this year’s Digitec Galaxus hackathon. But as the winning projects demonstrate, it seems like it was time well spent.
In monetary terms, the book is worth peanuts. You can get it for a few francs or euros on resale platforms, sometimes even with a CD-ROM included. The sentimental value is higher. So, at the end of the three-day hackathon, Team Genius Filters was delighted to receive the award from CEO Florian Teuteberg and Chief Innovation Officer Oliver Herren. They’ll get to hang on to the book aka travelling trophy until next year’s Hackfest.
Free text, not filters
The feature worked a treat during the team’s three-minute pitch, so it came as no surprise when, speaking after the event, CIO Oliver Herren gave the green light for it to be implemented in the shop as soon as possible.
We thought it was spooky-funny how much of an improvement we saw in our results, simply by adjusting our AI model and prompting. It really says something about the future of user experience.
Ideas for internal efficiency
A total of 24 teams with 171 participants signed up for the hackathon. The event saw experts from different departments and teams, who usually have little contact with each other, come together to work on a specific issue. Otherwise, building functional prototypes in under three days would’ve been impossible.
The final audience vote in the «Efficient processes» category was won by Team Dude Where’s My Data. As their team name suggests, the group presented a solution better able to cope with the large demand for data in day-to-day work.
Ideas to boost customer satisfaction
The team behind the price barometer was made up of experts from the frontend, UX, data and product sectors. These very diverse roles were key to the group’s success, as was the fact that the issue was close to everyone’s hearts. «We were even happier about the fact that our idea went down so well with Hackfest attendees,» says Clara Goebel, Product Owner.
Another member of the winning team, Product Owner Michael Stähelin, added that they’d been hoping their idea would make it into the top three. Ending up snagging first place, he said, came as a big surprise – especially given how strong the competition was.
No-print returns
Taking second place in the «Customer satisfaction» category was Team Labelless Returns, who «hacked» our returns process so that customers wouldn’t have to print a return label when sending back a product. Under this system, all you’d need to return a parcel via Swiss Post would be a QR code on your phone. While that might have a negative impact on printer sales, it’ll certainly be a relief for customers.
Which of our Hackfest ideas (filters, product search AI, a new price transparency tool) have caught your interest? What idea would you have submitted? Let us know in the comments. If reading this has made you interested in working for us, feel free to check out our current vacancies.
Martin Jungfer
Head of Content
Martin.Jungfer@digitecgalaxus.chJournalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.
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