41:08Austin 2026
Austin 2026
Retention-Driven Ecommerce CRO with Conor Itaya
Conor Itaya explains how to optimize a website for lifetime customer value rather than first-order conversion alone. The session connects site performance, offers, testing, and post-purchase cohort analysis.
Watch it. Put it to work.
ABOUT THIS SESSION
Fix the foundations first.
Conor Itaya explains how to optimize a website for lifetime customer value rather than first-order conversion alone. The session connects site performance, offers, testing, and post-purchase cohort analysis.
For ecommerce founders, marketers, and operators working on conversion & customer experience.
- Speaker
- Conor Itaya
Founder, Contara - Recorded at
- Austin 2026 ↗
April 2026
Speaker roles and platform examples reflect the session’s original context. This is an archived conversation.
TAKE IT BACK TO YOUR DESK
Ideas to put to work.
- 01
Fix the foundations first
Check performance, theme quality, inventory, and fulfillment before layering on more tests.
Read this part · 02:44 ↓ - 02
Test meaningful business decisions
Use experiments to evaluate offers, positioning, pricing, bundles, and major design changes.
Read this part · 09:55 ↓ - 03
Follow the customer after conversion
Compare segments and later cohort value before declaring a conversion test a winner.
Read this part · 25:27 ↓
READ THE SESSION
The edited transcript.
A condensed, edited reading version based on the YouTube captions and session chapters. Repetition and unclear audience audio have been removed; the discussion is paraphrased for clarity, rather than presented as a verbatim transcript. Timestamps refer to the original video.
Original recording on YouTube ↗Fix the foundations first
A website’s foundations can limit the value of every experiment that follows. Conor emphasizes clean builds, speed, and avoiding unnecessary app complexity. Inventory and fulfillment also belong in the conversation: increasing demand does little good if the business cannot deliver the experience the customer expects.
Test meaningful business decisions
Testing is both a growth tool and insurance against a costly assumption. Conor broadens the scope beyond button colors or isolated page elements. Offers, photography, positioning, and rebrands can affect the entire business, so evidence should inform those decisions rather than confidence in a new design alone.
Follow the customer after conversion
An experiment can increase first-order conversion and still reduce repeat purchase or longer-term value. Conor recommends connecting acquisition, site, and retention data to examine those tradeoffs. The goal is lifetime profit per visitor, with teams sharing responsibility for what happens after the initial transaction.
KEEP THE IDEAS COMING
Stay in the conversation.
3 SESSIONSPLAY IT BACK. PUT IT TO WORK.
YOUR NEXT STEP: IN THE ROOM
Bring your questions.
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