In a survey conducted by Guidance and Synovate, in which they asked respondents: “When thinking about shopping online, what is most likely to make you return to a given shopping website?”, they found that 60% of people are drawn to online retailers with Web 2.0 tools and technologies. And of the respondents, they found that:

- 34% will return to sites that offer product and service recommendations. The majority, 41%, of the social web gen in the 18-24 age group were more prone to this than the boomer 55-64 age group.
- 26% will return to sites that provide an unique shopping experience. Those with post-grad education and non-whites seemed to prefer this.
- 18% will return to sites that value and allow for feedback submission. The older age groups were found to be more likely to provide feedback. Non-whites as well seemed to value this option.
- 16% will return to sites that welcome them. More women than men were statistically inclined to this and more people in the lowest income range.
- 6% will return to sites that make them feel part of a community. So, the social networking component of online shopping is a valuable component that can serve to drive sales.

“The economy is fragile and the competition for the consumer dollar is fierce, but as these findings make abundantly clear, online commerce is now a two-way street - and retailers need to embrace that reality. Online consumers and merchants are in dialogue as never before, and consumers are counting on each other for insights in making purchase decisions. Recommendations have become the new currency of online commerce, along with their corollary, the opportunity to give feedback to the e-Commerce site.” - Jason Meugniot, Guidance President and CEO.