SportsShoes.com CTO on Retail’s Tech Evolution and Growth Strategies

Retail is undergoing rapid technological transformation, yet effective change doesn’t require adopting all innovations. Success lies in strategic investments that enhance customer experience and establish a business prepared for future challenges.

Jon Cleaver, chief technology officer at SportsShoes.com, has spent more than 20 years leading technology transformation across retail and ecommerce. Today, he leads the online retailer’s technology strategy, helping shape the systems, processes, and innovations that support the next phase of its growth.

“You don’t really know how customers are going to interact with new technology until you put it in front of them. That’s why we test, learn, and refine,” shared Cleaver.

In a 2026 conversation from Commerce Live EMEA in London, Cleaver shares his perspective on the future of retail, the lessons learned from SportsShoes.com’s digital transformation, and why building the right technology foundations is key to long-term success.

A Career in Retail Technology

Much of his time has been dedicated to helping organizations move away from legacy systems and build technology better suited for the future.

Since then, the company has undergone significant transformation, modernizing its ecommerce platform with a composable architecture and now focusing on backend systems.

One key lesson from his career is that successful transformation depends as much on people as on technology. Even the best platform won’t deliver full value unless it solves real problems for customers and teams, and the business adopts the change.

SportsShoes.com specializes in running shoes, clothing, and outdoor gear, stocking many leading brands. As the business grows, it continues to invest in enhancing the customer experience, both online and in-store.

Its unique selling point is its specialist expertise and focus on helping customers make informed decisions. Whether buying a first pair of running shoes or preparing for a marathon, the goal is to simplify finding the right products.

A Flexible Technology Platform

Their approach focuses on solving real problems. If a new capability enhances the customer experience or increases business flexibility, it’s worth investing in. If not, they move on.

This approach has already delivered commercial results. Since modernizing the ecommerce platform, they’ve achieved a significant increase in conversion while maintaining the flexibility to evolve the customer experience. It also allows them to experiment confidently, testing and refining technologies based on real customer behavior.

When measuring success, they prioritize the customer. While commercial metrics like conversion are important, they also focus on how quickly they can introduce new capabilities and respond to customer feedback. Success is an ongoing process, not a one-time achievement.

One of SportsShoes.com’s most valuable initiatives has been reviewing product data from the customer’s perspective. By understanding how customers search for and discover products, they’ve improved product data structure and made better investment decisions. This insight also led to implementing Feedonomics.

A key benefit of the composable architecture is the ability to work with specialist technology partners tailored to different business areas, rather than relying on a single platform. This flexibility allows them to choose the right solution for each challenge and evolve their technology stack over time.

Alongside BigCommerce, they collaborate with Feedonomics to strengthen product data and Bloomreach to enhance product discovery. Each partner plays a vital role in delivering an improved customer experience, and integrating these technologies has been central to their transformation.