At Manchester Digital, we regularly shine a light on our members to understand more about their roles and their work within Greater Manchester’s digital and technology community. This week, we’re speaking with Ric Riley and Dan Wigley, co-founders of Fabric Analytics.
Could you start by introducing Fabric Analytics and sharing what inspired you to build a business focused on data foundations and performance optimisation?
Fabric Analytics was founded in 2023 after years of seeing businesses try to optimise performance without being able to fully trust their data.
Before Fabric, Dan spent over 15 years in analytics, leading a team of more than 400 specialists at Dentsu. Ric’s background is in CRO and UX, with over a decade focused on improving digital performance for ambitious brands. Across both roles, the same issue kept coming up - businesses were making important decisions based on flawed tracking, incomplete setups or unclear reporting.
The migration from Universal Analytics to GA4 only amplified that uncertainty. Teams lost confidence in their numbers. CRO strategies were being built on unstable foundations, and in larger agencies, implementation was often pushed down to junior teams, which impacted quality.
We saw a clear gap for a senior-led specialist agency that put data integrity first.
Fabric was built on a simple belief - if your data isn’t accurate, nothing else works. Performance, optimisation and media efficiency all depend on strong foundations. We focus on tracking, tagging and compliance as the starting point, then layer CRO on top - combining psychology, structured testing and technical performance improvements to drive measurable growth.
Today we’re a 20-strong team of experienced specialists, with a 90% client retention rate and growth driven largely by referrals. Ultimately, we exist to give businesses confidence in their data so they can move faster and make smarter decisions.
You work with some well-known brands - can you tell us about the types of clients you support and the difference your work has made for them?
Most of our clients operate in e-commerce, where data accuracy directly impacts revenue. Alongside this we also work with a number of B2B brands that rely on clean tracking and clear reporting to guide marketing investment and lead generation.
When we launched, much of our work focused on helping businesses navigate the shift from Universal Analytics to GA4. Reporting changed overnight and confidence dropped. We helped teams rebuild their setups properly - fixing tracking, ensuring compliance and restoring clarity.
Now, our role is more about optimisation. We audit and refine tracking, improve attribution, and build bespoke dashboards that surface the metrics that actually matter. Many teams come to us because they’re spotting inconsistencies in their data or feel they’re not getting the most from GA4. We remove that doubt.
We see ourselves as an extension of the team rather than a bolt-on agency. We’re involved in strategy conversations, we challenge assumptions and we focus on outcomes. Whether it’s a fast-growth brand scaling quickly or an established business modernising its infrastructure, the impact is the same - stronger foundations and more confident decision-making.
What makes Fabric Analytics stand out from others in your field, and how does your Google GA4 certification enhance the value you bring to clients?
The biggest difference is that we specialise in both analytics and CRO.
Most agencies focus on one or the other. That often means clients are managing multiple partners who aren’t always aligned. CRO programmes can end up running on imperfect data, and attribution conversations become complicated.
We built Fabric to bridge that gap. By owning both analytics and optimisation, we ensure every test, every recommendation and every decision is grounded in validated data. Clients have one partner, one strategy and one clear performance goal.
We’re also one of only around 25 agencies in the UK to hold Google’s GA4 certification, which means our team is continually assessed and up to date with the latest standards. For clients, that provides reassurance - they know their analytics setup is being handled by verified specialists.
For us, certification supports what we already believe in - technical precision backed by commercial impact.
What drew you to join Manchester Digital, and what are you hoping to get out of being part of our community?
We’re proud to be a northern agency, so joining Manchester Digital felt like a natural step.
Being based in Manchester has shaped how we’ve built Fabric. The region’s digital ecosystem is ambitious, collaborative and fast-moving. We’ve been proud to support brands that want northern expertise to power their growth without feeling they need to look elsewhere for credibility.
Manchester Digital brings together agencies and tech businesses who genuinely want to raise standards across the region. We’re keen to contribute - particularly around analytics, compliance and performance optimisation as the industry continues to evolve.
At the same time, we value the opportunity to learn, collaborate and build stronger partnerships within the network. It’s very much a two-way relationship.
Collaboration sits at the heart of what we do - how do you see Fabric Analytics contributing to and benefitting from the wider Manchester Digital network?
Collaboration is already a big part of how we work.
We regularly partner with PPC, SEO and advertising agencies. When media teams have complete confidence in tracking and attribution, their optimisation becomes sharper. When everyone works from the same validated data, performance conversations become clearer and more commercially focused.
We see Fabric as the data partner that strengthens those relationships.
Within Manchester Digital, we’re looking forward to building more of those complementary partnerships - aligning analytics, media and optimisation strategies so clients get better results. The stronger the collaboration, the stronger the ecosystem.
Finally, are there any upcoming projects, developments or innovations you’re particularly excited about that you’d like to share with the community?
The biggest development for us is the launch of Fabric Real-Time.
It’s something that’s grown directly from client demand. Marketing teams don’t want to wait days or weeks to understand performance, especially in fast-moving e-commerce environments. Fabric Real-Time removes the 48 hour data delay within GA4 and provides instant, reliable insight built on validated data foundations, allowing teams to react in the moment rather than retrospectively. We’re already seeing strong results with some high-profile brands using it.
Alongside that, we’re about to launch a new website that better reflects where Fabric is today. It will showcase detailed case studies from well-known brands and over 25 video testimonials from clients speaking about the impact of our work.
It feels like the next phase for us - building on strong foundations while continuing to innovate.
Thank you Ric and Dan!
To find out more about Fabric Analytics, click here.
