Shop.com has recently introduced several new features to their shopping portal and platform including a new shopping lifestyle blog (The Shopping Vine), a Facebook shopping application and gift registries for multiple stores. Shop.com hopes the new features will give customers more ways to shop and exchange information Online.

Shop.com’s new lifestyle blog features affordable apparel, fun gadgets, household items, recipes and simple tips to make running any household easier for homemakers and families. Shop.com experts contribute new blog posts 5 times per week which also features an inspirational quote, a Shopping Pick of the Week and the soon to launch, guest expert bloggers, surveys and polls.

The Shopping Vine is a lifestyle blog brought to you by Shop.com. We combine the ruminations from our dedicated staff of adroit shoppers with the expert commentary from guest bloggers to provide you with an online forum where you can read and share shopping tips for you and your family, vote on fashion trends, and more – with other readers.

Shop.com also developed a new Facebook shopping application, SHOP.COMpanion. It makes it easy for Facebook users to search Shop.com, add products to their wish lists, view their friends Shop.com wish lists and gives users the ability to share additional product information.

Here’s how to add SHOP.COMpanion to your Facebook profile once you have an account:

1. Click this link to go to the application.
2. Follow the standard Facebook application installation process per the instructions on your screen.

Adding SHOP.COMpanion to your desktop is as simple as two quick steps:

1. Go to Yahoo! Widgets and click on the Yahoo! Widgets 4 button. After downloading, follow the instructions on your screen, and the widget framework will automatically be installed to your computer.
2. Once the framework is installed, then download and install SHOP.COMpanion by going to this link.

In addition, Shop.com rolled out upgraded gift registries for its shoppers so they can find, create and manage their own gift registries by selecting products from hundreds of name brand retailers, the company says. Now, shoppers can sort by price, store, and name as well as locate other registries by name and state. Users can manage their own registries through filtered views such as seeing only what items have been purchased.

Here’s what Shop.com’s Mondy Beller, Senior Vice President of Marketing, had to say:

As online shoppers are becoming increasingly more efficient in communicating, connecting, and sharing online, we are constantly reviewing and updating our existing offerings as well as developing and testing new features to help our customers shop more efficiently and more enjoyably. We’re excited about our blog, our new desktop widget and enhanced gift registries and how these elements over time will help build communities for our shoppers.

Wow, with all these new gadgets, widgets and applications it’s shaping up to be a great year for both Online shoppers and sellers. We have seen at least two new shopping applications like the Shop.COMpanion and by the looks of the trend, it’s doesn’t appear that these will be the last. It’s becoming a more social Internet everyday. I can’t wait to see what developers and shopping data providers have in store for the rest of us next.

What do you think will become the next big thing in Online Shopping?

Shop.com is Featured as one of the comparison shopping portals on our Product Listing Guide!