S9E8 - Unified Commerce & AI ft. Jigar Dafda, CPTO at Fynd

In this episode of the SaaS Sessions podcast, Sunil Neurgaonkar sits down with Jigar Dafda, Chief Technology & Product Officer at Fynd, to unpack how AI is fundamentally reshaping e-commerce in India.

From conversational commerce and hyper-personalization to autonomous back offices and AI-driven customer support, this conversation cuts through the hype to explain what’s actually changing, what’s overblown, and what founders must build for if they want to survive the next decade of commerce.

Key Takeaways -
1. Commerce Is Shifting From Interfaces to Conversations

-Traditional storefronts and search-driven UX are being replaced by conversational buying surfaces.
SEO is giving way to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) as ChatGPT-like interfaces become the new entry point.
Merchants will still own fulfillment and data—but discovery will increasingly happen outside their websites.

2. Hyper-Personalization Is No Longer Optional—It’s Infrastructure

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) are the backbone for AI-driven personalization across online and offline channels.
AI enables real-time personalization without armies of data scientists or analysts.
The real win isn’t better targeting—it’s higher conversion with less customer effort.

3. Dynamic Pricing and Forecasting Are Moving Into the Back Office

Pricing, inventory planning, and demand forecasting are becoming autonomous systems.
Decisions that once took days (via SQL and dashboards) now happen in real time.
AI shifts teams from “executors” to “validators” of system-generated decisions.

4. Customer Support Is the Lowest-Hanging AI Opportunity

60–80% of customer queries are repetitive and easily automated.
AI agents now deliver 24/7, multilingual, context-aware support at scale.
The real challenge is no longer conversation—it’s clean integration across OMS, WMS, and logistics systems.

Lightning Round Insights:

Fastest way to learn today: Use ChatGPT as a personalized tutor—summarize, question, and iterate.
Hardest leadership lesson: Systems are easy. People are not.
Founder advice: Build for where the market is going, not where it is today—today’s solution will expire faster than you expect.

About Fynd:

Fynd is one of India’s leading unified commerce platforms, powering brands across online, offline, marketplaces, and quick commerce. From storefronts and PIM to OMS, WMS, and omnichannel integrations, Fynd enables end-to-end retail operations on a single stack.

Chapters:

00:10 – Introduction
00:50 – Jigar’s decade-long journey at Fynd
05:20 – AI before vs after ChatGPT
08:10 – Conversational commerce & GEO
13:40 – Hyper-personalization and CDPs
19:40 – Dynamic pricing and demand forecasting
30:30 – AI in customer support
37:20 – Predictions for the future of e-commerce
39:40 – Lightning round