I was recently approached by the people behind myfaveshop.com – a new online shopping site. But rather than clone what’s out there already, myfaveshop taps into the insight that online shopping is a functional, solitary pursuit and are trying to make it a much more social pursuit: think Facebook social networking, commenting and all that gubbins flavoured with the best shopping sites such as Net-A-Porter and ASOS.

Users can create their own dream virtual shop filled with the brands and products they love, get shopping ideas from other users by looking at other virtual shops, check out celebrity ‘wish lists’ and top tips, and look at product reviews left by other shoppers before they decide to buy.

I liked the fresh layout, the high impact graphics, and particularly the ability to get a Firefox toolbar so I can add brands I like on the fly – not unlike the life-changing de.licio.us Firefox extension meaning I don’t have to keep flitting back and for the across the interweb.

I got a little confused when setting up my own shop as there seemed to be a paucity of brands but then accessing the full brands list revealed more brands that seemed to be a little hidden. I was worried that unless I wanted to dress myself in JohnSmedley and Vivienne Westwood I may not need this site. But it’s not just fashion brands either: Molton Brown, Elemis, Mr & Mrs Smith, Heal’s, Smeg, Dyson, Orange, Xbox, and Olympus to name but a few are there.

The shop has a 3D interface and some funky graphics which make it feel premium and boutique and quite different to what’s out there. And differentiation is going to be important with 20% of all retail purchases soon to be undertaken online by 2010 (source: IMRG). You also get: personal profiles and messaging; comment functionality and reviews; customisable personal shopping directories; brand, friend and product search functionality; the latest news from favoured brands; the best shop highlights, celebrity ‘wish lists’ and top tips.

But, seeing as I’m not a massive fashionista, I thought I’d ask some colleagues. Here’s what Katie, Kate and Carrie had to say:

Could do with being clearer on the home page exactly what the site is about and what the benefits are of using it – for me, I have a clear repertoire of websites that I use for internet shopping and each are clearly defined and branded websites that I love and visit because of the value-add, so I don’t really see how this concept would benefit me. Seems to be a weird hybrid between a social networking website and a portal - it jars with me a little bit because when I shop online it is very transactional, I have a clear product in mind that I need to purchase and visit a relevant site to carry out the transaction – the inspiration side comes before, usually from offline publications or more specific websites specifically tailored to the product I’m researching… this seems to be for people who just fancy spending some money on stuff – there is perhaps too broad a range of brands and products, could do with being segmented more clearly.

It looks fab if you are the sort of person with a high disposable income and a lot of time on their hands – maybe an AB possibly C1 stay-at-home mother who doesn’t do the FB thing? TBH I just can’t be arsed to join another social networking site AND spend time on it! But looks really, really good if I had more time and money. I am not sure if it is possible, but would be excellent if you could set up birthday/wedding lists on it, so that people can browse and order stuff for you, like a wish list.

It’s a bit dull in the colour department. Looks like the Vodafone site. Look at stylehive - they do a similar thing with more charisma.

So, not entirely positive from my colleagues but I liked it and will see how I get on with it in the coming months, especially if they do baby stuff. What do you think?