Incremental £4.5m driven from new agile personalization squad

Premier Farnell, a global distributor of electronic components and development tools (including the Raspberry Pi), operates across multiple markets with a complex product range for engineers and developers. Despite a strong market position, their digital experience and conversion rates were under-optimized, limiting online revenue potential.

 

I came in as part of the overall Digital Transformation Project working with McKinsey to help the Global Digital Director bed in a new agile squad and ultimately help them transition to the site to a world class B2B experience.

Premier Farnell had embarked on a digital transformation with McKinsey, aiming to deliver more personalized, efficient online experiences. However, the business faced several key obstacles:

  • 1 – Fragmented website optimization with limited data-driven personalization

  • 2 – No dedicated team focused on conversion rate optimization or personalization

  • 3 – Difficulty integrating Agile methodologies across teams to deliver iterative improvements

  • 4 – The need to drive measurable revenue growth from the digital channel while enhancing user engagement

I led the creation of a dedicated Personalization Squad, composed of UX/UI designers, a Scrum Master, analytics experts, and CRO specialists. The squad’s mandate was to optimize the full digital customer journey, from landing pages to product recommendations, and implement advanced CRO techniques to maximize revenue:

  • 1 – Introduced a product roadmap focused on personalization initiatives that directly drive commercial outcomes

  • 2 – Implemented Adobe A/B testing to validate optimizations and continuously improve site performance

  • 3 – Aligned team efforts to key KPIs: conversion rate, engagement, AOV, and incremental revenue

  • 4 – Delivered five major feature releases, improving UX, targeting, and digital touchpoints across the site

Incremental £4.5m delivered via Personalization Tests

 

  • 1 – +5% improvement in conversion rate, driven by iterative A/B testing and personalization strategies

  • 2 – Estimated £4.5 million incremental annual revenue, directly tied to digital optimization initiatives

  • 3 – 40% success rate in CRO experiments, providing actionable insights for continuous improvement

  • 4 – Enhanced engagement and satisfaction across the user journey, creating a more seamless and personalized experience

  • 5 – Scaled testing and optimization capabilities, embedding a data-driven approach into daily operations for ongoing growth

    By combining team leadership, full-funnel CRO, personalization, and data-driven optimization, this initiative not only improved conversion and revenue but also positioned Premier Farnell for continued digital growth. The project demonstrates how structured, KPI-led interventions can transform underperforming ecommerce channels into high-performing revenue engines.