How Kendra Scott Is Using AI to Redefine Jewelry E-Commerce | Kamanasish “KK” Kundu at Shoptalk 2025
🎧 Personalized Joy at Scale: KK Kandu of Kendra Scott | Shoptalk 2025 Live
Kamanasish Kundu (aka "KK"), SVP & Head of Digital and E-Commerce at Kendra Scott, joins Omni Talk live from the Avalara podcast studio at Shoptalk 2025 to explore the art and science of emotional commerce. From building a nimble, test-driven culture to prepping for an AI-first future of intelligent shopping agents, KK lays out the future of digital retail for a personal brand in an evolving world.
📍 Timestamps:
(0:09) Welcome and intro to KK Kandu – recently promoted at Kendra Scott
(1:00) KK’s background: from electrical engineer to e-commerce leader
(1:58) What KK’s Shoptalk session is about: personalization that spreads joy
(2:54) Redefining personalization: it’s about anticipating needs and building connection
(3:50) What makes jewelry unique in e-commerce—and why emotion matters
(4:55) Bringing in-store energy to digital through omnichannel alignment
(5:46) Test-and-learn culture: “launch and love” for every experiment
(6:52) Navigating price sensitivity and uncertainty with a proactive strategy
(8:20) Showing value through messaging and BNPL while staying nimble
(9:40) What’s next in e-commerce: AI agents, emotional touchpoints, and dual-layer websites
(11:13) Final thoughts: brands that balance intelligence and emotion will win
#shoptalk #kendrascott #retailtech
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
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Transcript
Hello everybody.
Speaker A:Welcome back.
Speaker A:This is Omnitok Retail.
Speaker A:I'm Anne Mazinga.
Speaker B:And I'm Chris Walton.
Speaker A: ng to you live from Shop Talk: Speaker A:Chris, we have an exceptional guest who's in a newly promoted role.
Speaker B:Recently promoted.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:We have Kamanishash Kondu.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Did I say it right?
Speaker C:Yep, you got it.
Speaker A:Kk, who is the SVP and head of digital and e commerce for Kendra Scott.
Speaker A:Kk, welcome to omnitalk.
Speaker A:Thanks for making time for us.
Speaker C:Thank you for having me.
Speaker A:Superstar, you big svp.
Speaker C:You are the superstars.
Speaker C:You are the celebrities.
Speaker C:Well, glad to see you both and you guys are doing some amazing work, so congrats.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker C:Thanks, man.
Speaker B:Thanks, we appreciate it.
Speaker B:Well, like we ask all our guests, why don't we start with your background?
Speaker B:Tell us about your background and your role at your company.
Speaker C:Yeah, I joined Kendra Scott a couple of years back and I own the overall digital PL for the business which includes like web trading, ux, product management as well as like personalization, analytics and overall omnichannel experience.
Speaker C:Like unified commerce.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Unified commerce.
Speaker B:Yeah, whatever you want to call it these days.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm good with.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And my background is like I started my career as an electrical engineer and then I moved into strategy consulting, project management, digital e commerce and all this.
Speaker C:And again I think all along throughout my career the common thread has always been customer obsession and data driven impact.
Speaker C:And before joining Kendra Scott, I was at Pandora, so I was leading the overall level.
Speaker A:Pandora.
Speaker C:All right, so glad to be here with you guys today.
Speaker A:Well, tell us a little bit about your session today.
Speaker A:You're on stage at Shop Talk.
Speaker A:What are you going to be talking about and what do you hope that the audience takes away?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So my session is at 4:55 today.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker B:Oh, we're competing against each other.
Speaker B:Yeah, we are, you and I.
Speaker A:He's an SVP though.
Speaker B:Yeah, I know, right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:All right, we'll have to make a bet on who fills the auditorium.
Speaker A:So what are you going to be talking about today?
Speaker C:So what I'll be doing is I'll be sharing insights with the audience around, like how we are personalizing customer experiences so that we are not only driving sales but also we are spreading joy and building meaningful connections with our audience.
Speaker C:And mainly it's kind of like Kendra Scott is a very personal brand and I think it's going to be very insightful for the audience.
Speaker C:And then I'm sharing few nuggets around how we are leveraging AI, how we are bringing this whole test and learn concept to life to scale the overall personalization program.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Cool.
Speaker B:Kk I'm curious, what do you think of the word personalization?
Speaker B:I think Ann and I tend to think it's a little overused, but what's your take on it?
Speaker B:Is it a word you like or is there another term you like or how do you define it?
Speaker C:I think nowadays I'm hearing more hyper personalization.
Speaker B:Hyper personalization.
Speaker B:Okay, so now we're getting more hyper about it.
Speaker C:We are getting more hyper.
Speaker C:But again I think to some people personalization can be like product personalization.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:But for me it's more like you understand your customers, you anticipate their needs and then you personalize that experience across every touch point in the journey.
Speaker C:And then I think that's when you see the magic.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:Because you're now scaling the overall impact and you're creating that long lasting, genuine, authentic customer relationship which will differentiate you from all the other players.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:The other word we hear all the time is relevance too.
Speaker B:The relevance is a key thing of personalization.
Speaker B:Right as well.
Speaker C:Totally.
Speaker B:All right, so jewelry, it's got some unique characteristics in E commerce.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So my questions for you are like one, how do you think about those characteristics?
Speaker B:And then two, how do you manage through their execution?
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So again I think jewelry is very emotional.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:It's not a utility.
Speaker C:When do you purchase a jewelry?
Speaker C:Like when you want to mark a moment or you want to self express yourself or your identity or you want to gift something meaningful to someone.
Speaker C:I think again I think our incredible founder, one of our famous quote is like fashion is a form of art and it's a self expression and self love.
Speaker C:So again I think we are not in the industry of selling jewelry but it's more we're trying to connect with the audience so we're offering that most relevant or connected experience when it comes to E commerce.
Speaker C:Our vision is foster deeper customer connection to offer the most personalized omnichannel experience we have around like 150 stores.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:And they offer.
Speaker C:I didn't realize that.
Speaker C:Yeah, they offer the most amazing experience you can think of and we try to bring that to life on across like digital channels.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:As well.
Speaker C:Because whenever I do like store visits I get always like inspired, energized and try to like put bring some of it in the online channel and then the fundamentals doesn't change when it comes to E commerce.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:You still need to Be data informed.
Speaker C:You need to be customer upset, you need to know who your customers are, what are the friction points you have in the customer journey and then you kind of take a very strategic focused approach in terms of delivering that.
Speaker C:I think the biggest change which I've brought at kenoscot is building a world class team who knows how to read the data and take actions, which is going to move the needle.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I think that's where we are very nimble.
Speaker C:We are always testing and learning and with every test we believe in launch and love mindset where every test is a stepping stone towards our evolving strategy.
Speaker C:So that's why we are constantly, every day we are innovating because every day is multiple tests running across the entire site.
Speaker C:And again, I think it kind of like makes us strong down the line.
Speaker A:Well, one question that I have for you, KK is really around pricing.
Speaker A:We have a lot of talk right now in the retail news and in broader news about tariffs and just price sensitivity from customers.
Speaker A:We'll say in general, is this anything that you've had to deal with in your role right now or even thinking about some technology that you might be interested investing in, like price optimization technology or even personalization technology to give special offers to your most loyal customers, things like that.
Speaker C:I think what I'll share is we are affordable luxury brand and value is very important to our customers.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And the good news is that again I think there's a lot of noise, right.
Speaker C:Like we don't know what we don't know at this point.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Things are constantly evolving.
Speaker C:But again I think what we know for sure is that our customers prefer value.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:So that's not going to change.
Speaker C:So that means like we're not going to fundamentally change anything like in terms of our execution.
Speaker C:The other good news which is in our favor is that we have a diversified supply chain which gives us more leverage.
Speaker C:Like in terms of different flexibilities, we can absorb pressure by kind of like adjusting from here to there.
Speaker C:And we also have a very clear understanding of the product economics.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So it's kind of like, okay, so we can have a very thoughtful, data driven approach towards pricing if we are starting to see some sort of impact.
Speaker C:But again, I think like we are not going to change anything dramatic like in terms of our promotional or pricing strategy.
Speaker C:We're more like waiting and watching and we are very prepared in the behind the scene and we are making like proactive adjustments, supply chain where needed.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So I'm curious, so have you had to do anything over this period of time to like adjust how you show value to your customer via your e commerce site.
Speaker B:Like is there anything that you found that has worked well or are you just still taking kind of a wait and see approach or just kind of like you said, testing your way and exploring your way into what that right answer is?
Speaker C:Yeah, I think what is very clear based on all the market reports, the customer confidence is going down.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So it is very clear that there is some concerns from a customer side that there is a possible downturn in the business, like possible recession, etc.
Speaker C:Etc.
Speaker C:So again I think like what we are doing is like we are going back to our drawing board to see that what are those value messaging resonate with our audience.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Like is it buy now, pay later which is important at this point.
Speaker C:So and then like once you understand, okay, so these are some of those important touch points like which is going to make a difference.
Speaker C:You amplify them more.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:And then you, when you do the amplification you need to think about what next what gives you scale.
Speaker C:Like if you just do it on web it's doesn't give you skill.
Speaker C:So we have a cross functional team or task force we already created who are working and making proactive actions decisions which is going to help us to stay competitive.
Speaker B:So it's really about being prepared and proactive for whatever situation comes your way.
Speaker B:All right, well let's get you out of here on this end.
Speaker B:I'm going to ask you to put on a more broader hat now or broad hat maybe not a more broader because that's terrible English ad put a broad hat here.
Speaker B:Looking across the industry.
Speaker B:So if we look at E commerce broadly, how do you think E commerce experiences are going to change the most in the next say three to five years.
Speaker B:How would they be different then than they are from today?
Speaker C:Yeah, I wish I had a crystal ball, but I don't have.
Speaker C:But things are constantly changing.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But again I think what I've seen is we are getting into a world where customer experiences would be more influenced by AI.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:Started with predictive now went into generative then that's a good way to say it.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So what that means then is like back in the day like the websites used to be just a storefront.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like where customers would come, they will shop.
Speaker C:Now I think like we are getting into a world like where there's machines.
Speaker C:That means like you Chris, like you'll have a agent.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:Right, right, right.
Speaker C:Do everything for you.
Speaker C:He knows your perhaps purchase Behavior.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Might take two agents to handle me and then.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And then, like, even before, you know, like, that agent might have placed an order.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So that means.
Speaker C:What that means for the brands is like, the website needs to be twofold.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like, one, it becomes an intelligent intelligence layer for machines.
Speaker C:On the other hand, it also becomes emotional touch point for humans.
Speaker A:Right, Right.
Speaker C:So then that's part of.
Speaker C:Fascinating.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:How do you kind of, like, merge them together?
Speaker C:I think that's going to be trick.
Speaker C:But the good news is that, like, at Henderscott, like, we are kind of like a customer first brand.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Like, we are always kind of on top of creating that joyful experience for them.
Speaker C:And I believe those brands who would be able to strike that balance between doing both, not forgetting about creating the joy or the emotional connection with customers, they are going to win in the long run.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Well, kk, thank you so much for taking the time.
Speaker A:Thanks to all of you for following along.
Speaker A:We have one more interview coming up today.
Speaker A: Today we will be in booth: Speaker A:Thank you to Avalara for helping bring us all of these interviews and all of our coverage from Shop Talk and until our last interview and your both of your competing stage performances.
Speaker B:Duke it out.
Speaker C:I'm coming to mine.
Speaker A:I'm coming to yours.
Speaker B:Don't tell them.
Speaker A:Don't tell them.
Speaker B:That was such a great question.
Speaker B:Nice job.
Speaker B:All right, well, as always, be careful out there.
