For retailers the move to mobile has been obvious.  More and more consumers are interacting with retailers, both online and in the store, using their mobile devices.  Retailers are quick to invest in both consumer facing mobile apps as well as ones to equip employees.  But when I talk to retailers about social, the value isn't as clear-cut.  Intuitively, retailers know that better relationships with customers will result in higher sales, but the trip to get there has many paths.

The interesting thing about social media is that it has the potential to permeate all parts of the business.  Obviously it works well for marketing, but it also has a place with recruiting, knowledge management, trend analysis, and employee collaboration.  Information gathered from social media can enhance existing processes like assortment planning, product development, space planning, promotion planning, and replenishment.  Letting the customer influence each of these areas helps align the experience.

One of the things holding retailers back is the lack of consistent and integrated tools to manage social media and make sense of the huge amounts of data.  To that end Oracle has been aggressively acquiring in the space, as depicted in the infographic below.  Soon, social will get the same level of investment as mobile.

The Social CRM Arms Race: A Timeline - An infographic by the team at Pardot Marketing Automation