Do you want a storyfront?

Terms of participation

Founding Merchant Program · Version 1.0 · 1 September 2026

1. What this is

The “Do you want a storyfront?” campaign (the “Program”) is run by shopware AG, Ebbinghoff 10, 48624 Schöppingen, Germany (Amtsgericht Coesfeld, HRB 11471), acting through its Agentic Commerce Lab team (“we”, “us”). We are selecting one merchant (the “Founding Merchant”) to build the next storyfront with, in the open. Applying is free of charge and requires no purchase. The Founding Merchant is chosen by a jury on the criteria in Section 4 — this is a selection on merit, not a draw.

2. Who can apply

  • You apply as a business — a company or a sole trader selling your own products — not as a private individual, and the person applying is authorized to represent the business and is at least 18 years old.
  • Your business is established in the European Economic Area (EEA).
  • You hold, or can grant us, the rights needed to feature your products, brand, and imagery in the pilot storyfront and the case study (Section 6).
  • Your products are lawful and suitable for a general audience. Age-restricted or regulated products (for example alcohol, tobacco, weapons, pharmaceuticals, adult content, financial products) are out of scope for this pilot.
  • Employees of shopware AG and its affiliates, and members of their households, cannot apply.
  • One application per business.

3. How to apply

Email Agentic-Commerce-Lab@shopware.com between 1 September 2026 and 22 September 2026, 23:59 CEST. Tell us who you are, what you sell, and why your products have stories worth telling — links and images welcome. Applications received after the deadline, or that don’t meet Section 2, are not considered.

4. How we choose

A jury drawn from the Agentic Commerce Lab team assesses every eligible application against these criteria:

  • how much story there is in the products and the people behind them;
  • whether a small, curated collection of about three products can represent the range well;
  • practical fit with the current state of the technology (catalog, imagery, language);
  • availability to collaborate during the pilot window (Section 6).

We may contact shortlisted applicants with questions or for a short call. If several applications are equally strong, the jury decides by a further qualitative assessment — never by drawing lots. The jury’s selection is final; we don’t publish shortlists or give individual feedback.

5. What the Founding Merchant gets

  • A storyfront built with you: a conversational store experience around a curated collection of about three (3) of your products — like our public demos, except yours is real.
  • Initial setup, content production together with you, and training — covered by us, at no cost to you.
  • Hands-on support from the team throughout the pilot.
  • The storyfront runs as a live pilot for a limited campaign period of up to two (2) months from its launch (the “Pilot Period”). During that period you can link to it from, or embed it on, your own site.

What’s not included: work on your existing website beyond the embed or link, paid advertising, and any guarantee of traffic, sales, or other results. The selection can’t be transferred, exchanged, or paid out in cash. After the Pilot Period the storyfront doesn’t quietly become a subscription — it ends, unless we both agree in writing on commercial terms to continue (Section 8).

6. What we ask in return

This is a pilot we run to learn, in the open — the case study is part of the deal, and we’re saying so up front. As the Founding Merchant you agree to:

  • put in the collaboration time: a kickoff, product storytelling sessions, and feedback during the Pilot Period;
  • provide product information and imagery you have the rights to;
  • take part in a public case study and social-media content about the pilot, and let us use your business name, logo, products, and non-confidential results in our marketing;
  • accept that the technology is experimental — it will be great, and it will occasionally be weird.

Publications that identify people — quotes, photos, film — are covered by a separate release we sign together, and you review the case study for accuracy before it goes live. The full details (scope, content rights, data protection roles, operating the live store, early termination) are set out in a short pilot agreement we both sign before the pilot starts.

7. Notification

We notify the selected merchant by email by 6 October 2026. If the selected merchant doesn’t respond within seven (7) days, or we can’t agree on the pilot agreement within a reasonable time, we may select another applicant. We announce the Founding Merchant publicly once the pilot agreement is signed.

8. Costs and taxes

We cover setup, content production, training, and running the storyfront during the Pilot Period. You cover your own costs: your time, your products, fulfillment of any orders, and travel, if any. If receiving these services has tax consequences for your business, handling them is your responsibility. After the Pilot Period neither side owes the other anything; if we both want to continue, we agree separate commercial terms first.

9. Your data

Applying means we process the personal data in your application — typically your name, role, contact details, and what you tell us about your business. We use it only to run the Program: assessing applications, asking follow-up questions, selecting and notifying the Founding Merchant, and documenting the selection (legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, with Art. 6(1)(f) for ancillary steps). We don’t use applications for marketing, and we don’t share them outside shopware AG and the service providers that run our email and storage. Applications are deleted no later than three (3) months after the Program ends; the selected merchant’s data continues under the pilot agreement. Contact for access, correction, deletion, or objection: Agentic-Commerce-Lab@shopware.com. See also our privacy notice.

10. The honest fine print

  • We may adjust, pause, or cancel the Program for good cause — for example if too few suitable applications come in, or legal or technical reasons require it. If we do, we say so at storyfront.shop.
  • We may update these terms before the application deadline in ways that don’t disadvantage applicants; the current version always lives on this page.
  • To the extent permitted by law, we’re not liable for applications that don’t reach us (for example, email delivery issues), for interruptions of the pilot storyfront, or for indirect damages in connection with the Program. Nothing limits liability for intent, gross negligence, or where liability can’t be limited by law.
  • This Program is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, Meta (Instagram, Facebook), LinkedIn, TikTok, or any other platform where we may mention it; by participating you release these platforms from any liability in connection with the Program.
  • These terms are governed by German law. If a provision is invalid, the rest stays in force.

Questions about the Program: Agentic-Commerce-Lab@shopware.com · shopware AG, Ebbinghoff 10, 48624 Schöppingen, Germany · legal notice

Ready to tell your story?

One merchant. Three products. A store that finally tells your story the way it deserves to be told.

Apply as founding merchant What’s a storyfront?