Hack The Mall Hackathon – A Reimagined Westend Experience Powered by Artificial Intelligence

On 10 September 2025, the Westend Shopping Centre hosted Hungary’s first hackathon specifically focused on digitally reimagining shopping malls: the Hack The Mall competition.

The event was organised by Westend and PropTech Hungary, with the aim of demonstrating that shopping centres of the future are not merely places of purchase, but data-driven community experience platforms.

The Goal: Rethinking Malls Through a Digital Lens

The hackathon’s themes were defined by artificial intelligence, data-driven personalisation, sustainability, and the integration of physical and digital experiences. The organisers gave the ten participating teams 24 hours to develop ideas that could tangibly improve the visitor experience, increase tenant efficiency and support sustainable operations.

Participants included startups, young professionals and corporate innovators, all supported by expert mentors – including international proptech specialists.

The Role of AI: A New Level of Customer Experience

Most teams identified AI as the key to the mall’s future. Ideas included:

• real-time visitor flow monitoring to optimise space utilisation,

• digital concierge systems providing personalised recommendations,

• AI-powered customer experience mapping to help tenants increase basket value,

• and sustainability solutions, such as AI-optimised energy consumption.

The diversity of ideas demonstrated that AI can simultaneously create business value and enhance the shopping experience.

The Jury: A Holistic Perspective

Presentations were evaluated by a distinguished professional jury:

• Péter Csillag – data technology expert, angel investor, President of HunBAN;

• Zoltán Kalmár – digital transformation specialist, Founder of PropTech Hungary;

• Stefánia Csordás – B2C Lead, Westend;

• Gergely Petheő – Business Transformation & Retail Innovation Lead, IKEA;

• Patrik Pálvölgyi – Head of the Westend Innovation Centre.

The jury assessed each idea based on business viability, technological feasibility, sustainability, and impact on customer experience.

The Outcome: A Vision for the Future and Tangible Ideas

The winning team developed an AI-based community experience platform that recommends programmes, stores and community activities based on visitor interests and movement patterns – enhancing customer experience while increasing tenant revenues.

The event proved that the digitalisation of shopping centres is not a distant future, but one of today’s most important innovation challenges.
Hack The Mall was not just a competition – it was a laboratory showing how we might imagine the role of malls by 2030: human-centred, AI-driven and sustainable urban community spaces.

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