Electricals group Best Buy has claimed a UK first with the launch of a “Facebook shop” enabling consumers to view thousands of products on the social networking site.

The page allows consumers to search by product category, see latest price reductions, share wishlists and click through to the retailer’s site to buy.

Best Buy launched a transactional UK website at the start of this month. A spokeswoman said: “Our customers tell us that they like the way we listen and respond to their views online, whether on community forums or on bestbuy.co.uk, via our Twitter feed or on our Facebook and YouTube pages. We’re excited to be giving our customers another new way to buy technology online.”

Best Buy’s European business is a joint venture with Carphone Warehouse. A fortnight ago the retailer revealed that losses from its fledgling big-box operations in the UK will be about £50m this year.