Social media and mobile combine to produce ‘Gutenberg moment’

The phrase ‘Gutenberg moment’  - an inflection point when a new medium changes not just what people can do but how they think -  is being used to describe the far-reaching effect of  social media and mobile customer engagement

Retail is having its own Gutenberg moment, created by the convergence of smart devices and social media and set in motion by powerful shopper-driven forces.

It's a combination that is literally changing the rules of the game for retailers, forcing them to move beyond "customer-centricity" - a concept that has been overused to the point of losing most of its meaning  - to something more aligned with fast-moving marketplace shifts.

RIS calls this new concept Engagement-Centric Retailing, a concept that taps the consumer and technological forces that are creating new methods for interactive collaboration, one-to-one personalisation and the ability to listen and learn what you need to know to succeed.

Some retailers are already Enhancing Customer Engagement by tapping into new technologies' unique capabilities, such as crowdsourcing, to create new products, and by using the viral nature of social media to multiply the impact of promotional campaigns.

Engagement-Centric activities can include connecting with shoppers' own smart devices, but retailers such as Home Depot and Nordstrom are discovering that in Creating the Engagement-Centric Store, it's equally important to empower their own people with mobile technology that allows them to sell more and deliver higher customer satisfaction.

These are just a few of the ways retailers can engage shoppers the way they want to be engaged - some would say the way they demand to be engaged. Engagement-Centric Retailing's possibilities will only expand in the coming months and years, but there are plenty of opportunities available now. When a Gutenberg moment comes along and accelerates change, taking action is key.