Denver-based Mallfinder develops and hosts websites, manages email-marketing campaigns and coordinates the delivery of brand and retailer content. It created Shoptopia in partnership with Forest City Commercial Management Inc., owner and operator of the malls where the site debuted this week: Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, VA and Galleria at Sunset in Henderson, NV.

The portal connects shoppers with retailers by merging the convenience of online shopping with "the fun and excitement of an in-store shopping experience," Dee explains. "It's a gathering point, a place for people to interact."

It's also a potential way to keep online shopping from draining business from traditional stores. US online retail sales this holiday season will reach $44 billion, a 12 percent increase over last year, according to a just released report by Sucharita Mulpuru, senior retail analyst from Forrester Research.

Although that's the slowest growth rate to date, an apparent reflection of the weak economy, shoppers are still enthusiastic about the Internet. A total of 48 percent of consumers surveyed, compared with 41 percent in 2007, say they can find the best values and deals online. Additionally, 36% say they would be more likely to shop online due to high gas prices, compared with 22 percent who expressed the same sentiment last year.

Just last month, Mulpuru warned retailers at the 2008 Shop.org Annual Summit that it was essential to understand the ways the web has changed shopping habits. Her message: Unless retailers embrace innovation, they will lose to online competitors.

Dee says Shoptopia is a way for bricks-and-mortar retailers to turn online shopping from competition to a partnership. Through the website, online users have access to a community of fellow shoppers to share tools, expertise and products reviews and potentially receive discounts and incentives for the brick-and-mortar retail locations at their local mall.

Dee says statistics show 75% of consumers prefer to move from online to brick-and-mortar locations if they have the option of using more than one channel to shop for goods. "We launched Shoptopia to meet the needs of these consumers and to connect them directly with brands and products available locally," he adds.

Jane Lisy, vice president marketing for Forest City Commercial Management, a subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises Inc., says the company partnered with Mallfinder because it "embraces the technological preferences" of its shoppers. "Shoptopia is one more step in combining the power of technology and exciting destination shopping," she says.

The site works like other social networks. Users create a profile and personalize their shopping preferences. Then they have the option to search, collect and organize favorite products with Shoptopia Lists, seek information family and friends in the Talk section and interact with retailers in categories including women's fashion, men's fashion, kids, gadgets, home, health & beauty, and eco-green. An optional Shoptopia "Bag It!" button, which can be installed to a Web browser toolbar, allows users to add things to their Shoptopia lists from anywhere on the Web.

Dee says the site was built on Drupal, a free and open source Content Management Framework that allows the system administrator to create and organize content, customize the presentation, automate administrative tasks, and manage site visitors and contributors. There's no charge to either the consumer or the retailer to use Shoptopia. However, Dee hopes to monetize the site by selling ads to retailers.