Marketers who use their websites to sell their goods and services have developed a number of features that enable shoppers to interact with other shoppers, allowing others to influence their shopping decisions. These sites include and appeal to opinion leaders, market mavens and innovators. After examining the top twenty retail websites, some techniques have been found. Examples include the use of online chat rooms and e-mail a friend. Expert advice is another type of interpersonal influence.
Some pharmaceutical sites offer advice from doctors.
Gift recommendations and product reviews from other consumers and employees are used on some sites. Marketers also appeal to influencers by providing product information through the use of search engines, which allow comparison of products. Through a content analysis of these retail sites we hope to begin development of a model of online advertisers' use of interpersonal influence according to product category.