About Actuate Digital

We Build the Problems You Want to Have.

Actuate started in 2014 with a simple idea: that eCommerce works better when it’s built around how people actually think and behave. Mat founded the agency after training as an actor, and that instinct for understanding what drives people to act is baked into everything we do.

We’re a small, specialist team based in Manchester working with ambitious retailers across Shopify, Magento, and Adobe Commerce. We’re not trying to be the biggest agency in the room. We’re trying to be the most useful one. The team that tells you what’s actually wrong, fixes it properly, and sticks around to make sure it stays fixed. If you’re local, this is what working with an ecommerce agency in Manchester looks like, and who we work with across the North West.

actuate [ak-tew-ate] – verb: to cause to act, influence, incite to action, motivate.

We’re not here to patch things up and move on. We’re here to help you move forward. That means tackling the problems that are slowing you down now and setting you up for the better ones that come next.

The kinds of problems we love?

Like figuring out how to reward your most loyal customers.
Or finally cracking the average order value with smarter bundling.
Or deciding when it’s time to bring fulfilment in-house.
Even planning for global expansion with multi-currency and multi-language baked in.

This is where we work best, turning blockers into breakthroughs and laying the groundwork for whatever’s coming next.

Because the only problems worth having? Are the next nice problems.

Meet the
Team

Jessica O'Connor Project & Marketing Manager

Our Process

Dig into the data

We start by digging into your users’ behaviours, including heatmaps, analytics, and checkout flows, to understand what’s slowing your site down or stopping people from buying. This gives you clarity on where revenue is being lost and where the biggest opportunities lie.

Build a plan that actually works

Once we know what’s going wrong, we map out a clear, focused plan based on your goals. You get practical, prioritised actions designed to improve conversion, speed up performance, and deliver results without wasting time or budget.

Make changes that move the needle

Design, dev, CRO. We don’t do shiny for shiny’s sake. We do performance-first changes that make your site faster, smoother, and more profitable. We test, we tweak, and we talk to you like a real person throughout.

Unlock your next nice problem

Once things are running better, the fun really starts. That’s when new headaches show up, the good kind. Things like “how do we scale without losing our margins?” or “can we finally automate fulfilment?” The next nice problems are where we shine.

Explore Our Process

I like working with Actuate because they care about what they do, they clarify the detail to get the job done right.

Catherine Lund-Barker Elcometer

What our clients day

"What impressed us most was how quickly Actuate identified the root cause. Within the first call they'd spotted the metadata issue that had been tanking our traffic. Everything that followed has been just as sharp."

Mitch Tamcken AutoID

I like working with Actuate because they care about what they do, they clarify the detail to get the job done right. They have worked incredibly hard with our complex needs and have been on hand for help and advice every step along the way...

Catherine Lund-Barker Elcometer

Without Actuate's help and support, our original website wouldn’t have succeeded. Time was of the essence, and Actuate stepped in to deliver a swift turnaround. The new site has performed exceptionally well ever since. We continue to grow thanks to Actuate. ❤️ Thanks guys!”

Chantelle Telford Robinsons of Bawtry

Their team leverages their expertise to provide sound opinions and advice to guide the project in the right direction.

Daniel Wright Reliant

I worked with Actuate on the redevelopment of the Pickett London website. Their team is an excellent asset for any company or team, it was a pleasure to work with them - easy to communicate with, easy to reach and always willing to help.

Oliver Moser Pickett

Working with Actuate is a pleasure — they are really trying to help, they listen and offer solutions to solve the problems. Thanks for all your help so far.

Rafael Bielinski Buller Ltd

We've worked with Actuate for several years and the results have been consistent. Conversion rate up 113%, AOV up, bounce rate down. They know our business inside out, and it shows.

Rob Dyer Be My Bear

We Build the Problems You Want to Have.