The term age of the customer describes the shift in power between business organizations and their customers, as individuals have become increasingly empowered through information technology, the internet, and social media. The term was coined by the consulting company Gartner who describe it as such “To put it simply the age of the customer is all about the shift in power between you and your customers, now that shift is away from you and towards your customer. They are empowered by digital technologies… real-time access to information.”