Opeyemi Joshua Adelowo, Eniola Rufai, Victor Dakoh, Kenechukwu Anyaka
Abstract
E-commerce’s explosive rise has drastically changed how people buy and sell goods around the world; however, within university environments, majority of student transactions are conducted through informal social media platforms, leading to issues such as poor organization, limited product visibility, trouble confirming reliable vendors and increased risk of fraud. This study presents the design and implementation of a secure, web-based, campus-based online marketplace system tailored specifically for Babcock University students. The system was developed using the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) with the incremental approach model, implementing a React-based frontend, a Spring Boot backend, and a PostgreSQL database. A crucial feature of the platform is institutional email verification, which enhances user trust and ensures that only registered students can access the system.
The platform provides functionalities including user authentication, product listing and management, search and filtering, order processing, real-time communication, reporting system and a review and rating system. The evaluation was conducted using performance, accessibility, best practices and search engine optimization (SEO) metrics, with the findings indicating improved system efficiency, usability and transaction organization. The proposed system demonstrates how a structured digital marketplace can enhance transparency, trust and accessibility within a university community while promoting student entrepreneurship and secure peer-to-peer commerce.
Keywords
Online Marketplace, E-commerce Systems, Campus-Based Platforms, User Verification, Web Application.
Conclusion
The study designed and implemented an online marketplace system for Babcock University. The study was prompted by the challenges students face when buying and selling goods within the university community. Common informal trading methods used by students are unstructured, lack transparency and record management, and security; hence, issues of maximum product visibility, reachability to the target audience, transaction tracking efficiency and trust issues.
The developed system provides a centralize platform that supports structured buying and selling activities within a secure digital environment. The system had three main user roles: Students (Users), Merchants and Admins and to maintain role-based access control and system organization, each of these roles had specific functionalities. The user module enables login/registration, product browsing, search and filter, in-app chat with merchants. The vendor module allows storefront management, product listings, inventory management, order management and in-app chat with customers. The admin module ensures system oversight through user management, product monitoring, and enforcement of platform policies.
The system was designed with appropriate software development methodologies starting from conducting system analysis, requirements specification, designing the system, implementing it and then testing. Testing was performed to confirm that each module worked as specified in the requirements.
In general, the study objectives were accomplished by establishing a fixed and workable online marketplace system for Babcock University students that demonstrates how such digital solutions can enhance accessibility, accountability and convenience during campus-based transactions. Future Research Recommendations
Future research can extend this study by investigating how students and vendors adopt and interact with the Online Marketplace System over time. This includes analysing user behaviour, purchase trends and the drivers of trust and engagement in university based digital marketplaces.
Another important direction is to evaluate the impact of the platform on student entrepreneurship within the university. That could include exploring whether such platforms help students develop small businesses or boost their income compared to social media platforms.
Future work can also involve comparing solutions for other university marketplace systems to understand their efficacy, usability and the sustainability of the platform in augmenting campus trading activities.
In addition, Future studies can examine development and usability of a mobile application version of the marketplace system. This analysis might assess mobile access effects on usage, feasibility and general acceptance among the students.
Lastly, assessments could be done on the scalability of such a system should Babcock University decide to fully adopt the system in its present condition. This involves testing the performance of a system with large user traffic and examining the technical and operational needs required to implement on a large scale throughout the university.
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How to Cite This Paper
Opeyemi Joshua Adelowo, Eniola Rufai, Victor Dakoh, Kenechukwu Anyaka (2026). Design and Implementation of a Secure Online Marketplace for Babcock University. International Journal of Computer Techniques, 13(2). ISSN: 2394-2231.
