Boost Retail Conversion: Gareth Johns on Data-Driven Strategies That Drive Sales

S2:E1 Revolutionize Your Retail Strategy with Data-Driven Conversion Insights Season Two of The Retail Razor: Data Blades opens with a sharp focus on the retail metric that makes or breaks growth: conversion rates. Hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden sit down with Gareth Johns, Chief Data Officer at TruRating, to reveal how real-time shopper feedback and data-driven insights are helping retailers unlock millions in revenue.  In this episode, you’ll discover:Why conversion is the biggest untapped retail growth opportunity.The flaws in exit surveys, QR codes, and focus groups.How staff availability and customer expectations directly impact sales.A footwear case study that drove an 8% lift in conversion and unlocked $16.7M in revenue.Practical steps to increase in-store conversion rates and improve customer experience. If you’re a CMO, COO, or CEO looking to optimize retail performance, this episode delivers conversion strategies you can act on today.Don't forget to like and subscribe to The Retail Razor: Data Blades for more episodes on customer experience, retail marketing, AI in retail, and data‑driven transformation!Subscribe to the Retail Razor Podcast Network: https://retailrazor.com/Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://retailrazor.substack.comSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://go.retailrazor.com/utubeGuest Info:Gareth Johns, Chief Strategy Officer, TruRating - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gareth-johns-7166524/Gareth Johns is an internationally experienced product and data development leader with 20+ years of expertise in using big data and technology to drive business growth for major retailers. He played a key role in scaling dunnhumby, a global leader in customer data science, from a 30-person startup to an international powerhouse in marketing analytics and customer insights for Tier 1 retailers. After leading strategic initiatives across the US and Europe, he went on to Starcount before joining the TruRating team. Gareth is passionate about transforming the way retailers collect and use customer feedback. At TruRating, he’s helping businesses access real-time, transaction-tied consumer data at an unprecedented scale; revolutionizing how retailers measure and improve business performance.More from TruRating about optimizing conversion:https://trurating.com/blog/5-takeaways-from-our-conversion-analysis-masterclassChapters:(00:00) Preview(00:41) Show Intro(03:17) Welcome Gareth Johns, Chief Data Officer, TruRating(03:57) Challenges in Measuring Conversion(08:36) Effective Shopper Feedback Mechanisms(13:54) Case Study: Footwear Brand Conversion Success(18:22) Key Takeaways and Actionable Insights(20:11) How to Learn More(20:53) Show CloseMeet your hosts, helping you cut through the clutter in retail data insights:Ricardo Belmar is an NRF Top Retail Voice for 2025 and a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert from 2021 – 2026. Thinkers 360 has named him a Top 10 Thought Leader in Retail, a Top 25 Thought Leader in AGI and Careers, a Top 50 Thought Leader in Agentic AIand Management, and a Top 100 Thought Leader in Digital Transformation and Transformation. Thinkers 360 also named him a Top Digital Voice for 2024 and 2025. He is an advisory council member at George Mason University’s Cent