E-commerce sites need to work making an end user's shopping experience social, not just simple, reports AdWeek.

A new Gartner study shows two kinds of online shoppers have emerged: The solo shopper and the social shopper.

While the former simply wants to find what he or she needs and end the experience, the latter wants to connect with other shoppers and find what he or she is looking for. These people also trawl message boards, peer reviews and other information on an item to help make more informed - and connected - purchasing decisions.

The study points out e-commerce sites need to create a more immersive environment to lure and retain social shoppers. Efforts can include rich media, informational links to other sites, or indications that the shopper is part of a larger community, like forums or customer reviews.

While these moves may be scary for companies wary of losing knowledge control, Gartner maintains giving people access to sources of relevant information is a way to increase loyalty.

Amazon.com and eBay were two provided examples of sites that let people interact around a product. Social shoppers make up at least half of the customer pool, though the some individuals can act as both social and solo shoppers, depending on the circumstance.