How Ribble Cycles uses AI, site speed & stealth projects to accelerate ecommerce growth
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Get the full episode here
“How can I change the wheels of the car or the wheels of the bike without stopping? That’s how I think about stealth projects. It’s about making smart, incremental improvements that unlock business upside without causing unnecessary disruption.”
— Matthew Lawson, Chief Digital Officer at Ribble Cycles
In this episode of Ecommerce Toolbox: Expert Perspectives, host Kailin Noivo sits down with Matthew Lawson, Chief Digital Officer at Ribble Cycles, to unpack how his team is winning in ecommerce without replatforming, chasing hype, or burning out their team.
Ribble is a UK-based DTC bike brand operating in a high-AOV, high-intent category — where performance isn’t optional. Instead of chasing silver bullets, Matthew’s team focuses on tactical execution, speed, and a culture built on trust and problem-solving.
🎧 Listen to the full conversation on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube
Site speed isn’t cosmetic — it’s revenue
Site performance was the clearest ROI driver for Ribble — and the place Matthew started when optimizing.
Instead of aiming for a total front-end rebuild, Ribble:
- Benchmarked all competitors on speed
- Took a modular, page-by-page approach to optimization
- Used a headless architecture to enable behind-the-scenes upgrades
As each page improved — homepage, then PDP, then checkout — conversions increased. A single caching issue later revealed just how sensitive customers were to lag:
“I could see the impact instantly. A cache clear introduced latency, and sales dropped the same day.”
— Matthew Lawson, Chief Digital Officer at Ribble Cycles
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“Stealth projects” keep momentum without risk
Rather than big, expensive launches, Ribble runs small, high-impact “stealth projects.” These are low-profile changes with high upside:
- Swap a front-end framework without telling the board? ✅ Done.
- Update infrastructure behind the scenes while improving UX? ✅ Also done.
This strategy enables change without disruption, and builds trust through consistent delivery — not promises.
AI + LLMs: Embedded, not hyped
Ribble isn’t running an “AI initiative.” They’re just using AI where it helps:
- Devs use AI to refactor and ship code faster
- Marketers use prompt-tuned LLMs to create and repackage content
- Teams are experimenting with local LLMs trained on company data for internal Q&A and reporting
“Every team is using AI already — even if they don’t call it that. It’s just embedded into how we work now.”
— Matthew Lawson, Chief Digital Officer at Ribble Cycles
AI isn’t a strategy. It’s a multiplier. It removes blockers, increases autonomy, and accelerates marginal gains.
Culture you can’t hire overnight
Unlike many fast-scaling ecommerce orgs, Ribble isn’t filled with new hires or offshore contractors. The team has been around for 7–8 years, and that matters.
Because they know the systems, the product, and the customer, they don’t need permission to solve problems — they just solve them. That creates autonomy, speed, and clarity.
“You can’t outsource ownership. You can’t pay people to care.”
— Matthew Lawson, Chief Digital Officer at Ribble Cycles
Marginal gains over flashy wins
Ribble’s strategy isn’t centered around one big release — it’s stacked improvement:
- One faster load time
- One better checkout experience
- One AI assist that saves an hour of writing
None of these are headline-worthy on their own. But together, they compound into something powerful: consistent growth.
“We’re not the fastest site on the Internet. But we are the fastest among our competitors — and that’s enough.”
— Matthew Lawson, Chief Digital Officer at Ribble Cycles
What ecommerce leaders can steal from Ribble
Here’s what makes Ribble’s digital playbook stand out:
Listen to the full episode now
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