CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Online Market, commonly known as e-commerce or eCommerce, or e-business consists of the buying and
selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks.
The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with widespread Internet usage.
The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds
transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data
interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern
electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at least at some point in the transaction's
lifecycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.
A large percentage of electronic commerce is conducted entirely electronically for virtual items such as
access to premium content on a website, but most electronic commerce involves the transportation of
physical items in some way. Online retailers are sometimes known as e-tailers and online retail is
sometimes known as e-tail. Almost all big retailers have electronic commerce presence on the World
Wide Web.
1.1.1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF ONLINE MARKETPLACE
Over the past decade, there has been an extreme jump in internet sales. For example, in 2006, from
November 1st to December 26th online shopping soared to $23.1 billion dollars, increasing by 26% from
the previous year. Creating a competitive battle with retail stores, online shopping presents a more
convenient method of shopping without the lines and the crowds, however, buying online takes away
from the social aspect of shopping. Having recognized the lack of social appeal that e-commerce presents,
new navigating tools to ease decision- making are being implemented as a result, people are becoming
more comfortable with shopping online. As the pressure from online shopping sites increases, retailers
have to focus on better marketing strategies to promote products and influence customers to shop in their
stores instead of online. In fact, many retailers are now making their products available online. Thus, a
new influx of “click and mortar” retailers are surfacing. The “click and mortar” retailers that provide
online shoppers with easy to use features are increasing their online profits and becoming strict
competitors to the top online-only companies (ie Amazon and Netflix.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In human endeavor, there is a lot of development which helps to maximize production, income and
operation of businesses at the physical market. These have brought increase in complexity of marketing
system like B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumers) and its operations. Based on
these, a number of problems are facing the physical market system which include
1) Day-to-Day pressures of selling
2) Coping with customers
3) Solving basic business problems
4) Competitions (a new player enters, market conditions changes, sales drops, the company
introduces a new products or services).
5) Most of the leads came from the sales staff.
6) Unable to recognize previously visited customers
7) Availability of market (sales and services) to the whole parts of Nigeria
8) Unstable fixed price
1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY
The aim of this study is to design and implement a database driven online marketplace. The web based
program developed in this research essentially provides all the necessary marketing services and
operations done at a physical market place which will help increase their operations based on sales and
services. These operations include general sales and marketing management.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
In this study therefore, the researchers hope to accomplish the following objective:
i. To design a simple and easy to use online web based e-commerce website
ii. To solve the problem of geographical location
iii. To Reduce pressures mounted on sellers
iv. To increase stock management
v. To improve quality delivery system
1.4 SIGNIFICANCES OF THE STUDY
Buying and selling is very important to our everyday life, its very important that we humans have to
market what we have like goods and services to other people that needs it, also purchase what we are
lacking. Marketing is highly regarded everywhere in the whole parts of the world. The following are
some significance of this study:
The secured site for electronic commerce will help the populace people of Nigeria to get rid of risk in
carrying cash around and the convenience of shopping anytime of the day.
It will reduce the risk of transportation, since the customer does not have to travel far to shop for any
items or goods.
It will reduce the risk of authentication of the product and improved business transaction as customers are
now sure of the originality of the product they purchased.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This project looks into the processes involved in marketing of goods and services in the marketplace. The
researchers concentrated on the operation going on the general marketing activities like sales,
management of stocks, pricing and registering of customers, security and policy guiding sales.
1.7 DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS
E-commerce: Generally, refers to exchange of goods or services over electronic system such as internet.
B2B: Refers to selling of products or services to other businesses.
B2C: Refers to selling of product or services to end consumers.
Credit card: it is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and service from certain establishment.
Merchant: Refers to as organization (such as an MIT department) accepting credit card payments for the
goods or services they provide.
Order: A record of a request for goods or services initiated by a customer.
Order ID: A unique identifier assigned to a customer order in clear commerce.
Shopping cart: A wheeled cart for purchase of goods in a store or supermarket.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 INTRODUCTION
A lot of research work has been carried out on the topic of E-commerce. This chapter offers a review of
these research works. It sheds light on its features, advantages, disadvantages as well as the conceptual
overview and historical overview of the E-commerce market.
2.2 CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW
Electronic commerce or e-commerce is a term that conceptualizes commerce or trading using the internet.
The simple convenience of having access to a large number of both physical and non-physical resources
by using a computer has changed current human life from a fundamental standpoint, along with the form
of how businesses are managed and accessed. The presence and existence of virtual marketplaces that
have no physical form but which allow customers to purchase a variety of goods, services and even
information from their location of convenience is an incredible leap from traditional stores. The
technological advances of the 21st century have led to an increasing use of the Internet for commercial
purposes. (Hassan 2009). According to Lawal and ogbu, (2015) E-commerce, is more than just
electronics and commerce added together. It represents an entirely new way of doing business over a
medium that changes the very rules of doing business. It is therefore, far more about strategy and business
management than it is about technology.
2.3 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The concept of E-commerce was formed over 50 years ago. The arrival of early day technology like
teleshopping and electronic data interchange (EDI) set the scene for the modern-day E-commerce
network we all know today. The creation of the internet 1991, helped bring Online shopping into
existence. Amazon was amongst the very first E-commerce stores to start selling products in the US and
many have joined since then.(Zwass, 2022).
Entrepreneur Michael Aldrich invented what would be the first concept of E-commerce in 1979. He was
able to create a system that advertised goods and services on Tv and allowed viewers to order these goods
and services by calling into processing centers he called this system “teleshopping”. This was the first
documented concept of E-commerce created. As the internet became more popular in the 90’s,
technologies also began to evolve. French innovators launched the Minitel, a service that would be a
bluePrint for the World Wide Web. (Zwass, 2022). This free to use service-connected millions of people
by making use of telephone lines as well as Videotex terminal. Over 25 million people were using Minitel
by 1999. The World Wide Web equally started gaining traction after it was launched in 1991 and this
quick burst of popularity made it surpass Minitel. Boston Computer Exchange was an online market for
individuals that wanted to purchase computers. It launched in 1982 and was the First official E-commerce
store. Other E-commerce companies like Amazon and eBay would eventually be created a few years
later. (Zwass, 2022).
2.3.1 TYPES OF E-COMMERCE
i. Business-to-business (B2B): This type is defined as e-commerce between companies; the buyer
and the seller are businesses or other organizations.
ii. Business-to-consumer (B2C): In this type, the seller is a business organization while the buyer is
a consumer. This type imitates physical retailing and therefore it is commonly called electronic
retailing. It is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce.
iii. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C): This type involves consumers who sell directly to other
consumers. The online auction is one form of this type of e-commerce.
iv. Consumer-to-business (C2B): In this type, the consumer determines his/her requirements to a
business so that the business can provide a product to meet these requirements. The requirements
could involve the customization of an existing product or the creation of a new one.
v. Government-to-citizens (G2C): This type involves a government buying or selling products,
services or information to businesses or individual citizens
vi. Mobile commerce (m-commerce): This type involves performing e-commerce through wireless
technology such as handheld devices (i.e. cellular telephones).
2.3.2 ADVANTAGES OF E-COMMERCE
1. Time saving: The use of E-commerce platforms reduces time wastage as it will cut the time one
will use to go to a store to get an item.
2. Comfort: any individual can order an item from anywhere with just the push of a button.
3. Access: Regardless of whatever day it is, the E-commerce market will always be open. The
online market is not affected by any event that might affect the traditional market.
4. Incentives: The E-commerce market offer deals on some products that the traditional market
don’t. some E-commerce sites offer up to 80% off items including free shipping on some
occasions
2.3.3 DISADVANTAGES OF E-COMMERCE
1. Security: Some scammers can pose as seller’s online platforms and cheat people. Its is important
to make sure the platform, website or app is genuine before making purchases with your card.
2. Credit card issues: Some credit cards might not work on some particular sites. Like here in
Nigeria where most banks don’t all customers use their Nigerian bank cards on foreign E-
commerce platforms. So in order to purchase a product, the customer would have to open a
domiciliary account.
3. Quality: it is common knowledge that most sellers don’t deliver the quality of product the
advertise on their sites. The fact that a customer can’t feel and touch whatever product they are
buying to know its authenticity is a major issue in online marketing.
4. Poor customer reviews: A vendor or seller might pay people to write good reviews about a
product even when they have obviously not used that product. And these fake reviews will miss
lead people into buying these products.
2.3.4 Here are some of the top ecommerce websites in Nigeria based on some of their features;
i. Jumia: jumia Nigeria was established in May 2012. Backed by a $60 million foreign investment,
it is unarguably the most popular on store in Nigeria. Jumia is currently rated as the most visited
ecommerce in Nigeria. (Alexa, 2018).
ii. Konga: like jumia konga is also founded in 2012 by sim shagaya and has grown to one of the best
online stores in the country. (Alexa, 2018).
iii. Kara.com.ng: this is one of the leading ecommerce site in terms of household appliances and
electronics. (Alexa, 2018).
iv. Dealdey: dealdey was established in March 2011. (Alexa, 2018).
v. Kaymu: kaymu was launched in 2012 by Africa internet group. Their business activities primarily
Centre on creating online market channels that allow buyers and sellers carryout transactions on
their website. (Alexa, 2018).
2.4 REVIEW OF RELATED WORKS
(Ohidujja man et.al 2013) discusses how E-commerce is a pivotal moment for online business practices
and can contribute largely to the growth of the economy.
(Hasan et.al 2019) discusses how E-commerce is currently becoming a significant and fundamental part
of the business strategies of most companies and how it has also become a strong catalyst for economic
development.
(Monsuwe et.al 2004) reviews the topic of E-commerce and how it has made anonymous buying possible
for customers who don’t feel comfortable buying some personal products from the physical store.
(Brown et.al 2012) discusses how E-commerce has made daily activities like grocery shopping easy for
people who do not like crowds.
(Dobbis et.al 2014) observes how online retail stores advertise themselves through low prices. It uses
Amazon as an example of stores that use this tactic. The use of this method by these stores have led to a
consumer surplus.
(Gold smith et.al 2000) discusses how most customers prefer online shopping because they try to avoid
human interaction especially with sales persons because they don’t want to be cheated. This is usually the
case for customers who might have had a negative experience with a sales person in the past.
There are many restrains in the traditional way of selling goods and services but in the online space, there
are no limitations. (Johnson et.al 2019) reveals the differences between the online market and the
traditional market. The traditional market focuses on only one to one communication which means the
seller can only provide services to one customer at a particular time. E-commerce on the other hand has
made a much easier communication system. Millions of people can buy products from one online seller
all at the same time.
Any business startup that plans on adopting E-commerce practices should maintain a basic strategy for
making their business efficient and effective as shown in fig 1 below.
Therefore, there is a lot of possibility and room for development to make e-commerce more
convenient and easily accessible. In this study, we are interested in designing and implementing a web-
based e-commerce system that mainly focuses on buying and selling of goods online.
CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary
In this project, we proposed a web application that allows users to buy products online. This store gives
people the opportunity to make purchases from anywhere in the world with just a few clicks. It also
provides users with a simple yet beautiful UI design. It sells products from top brands cheaper than the
other online stores currently running. The aim of this store is to make the shopping process easier and
faster.
This study explores how E-commerce has made it easier for people to purchase goods and services online.
The aim of this project is to provide people with a system that lets them search for whatever products they
would like to get and eventually buy those products online. It is also aimed at giving store admins and
managers the freedom to modify the stores layout as well as the products in the store. Having a good UI is
important to the further development of any application and this application meets that requirement.
5.2 Conclusion
The research work titled “design and Implementation of an E-Commerce Website S” was deeply studied
and analyzed to design the code and implement with various testing methods were done under the
guidance of experienced project guide. The solution developed is free from all the bugs and executable
with all different modules to the utmost satisfaction of the user. All current requirements and possibilities,
have been taken care during the research time. The solution provided now will suit all the needs of
various users in the same industry but also the possibilities of further upgrading of this solution with the
new and advance technologies, and further additional requirements of the users is not ruled out.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
The aims and objectives of this project were met as the E-commerce web application was successfully
implemented and because of this success, I have been able to come up with the following
recommendations:
I. It is important for all businesses, especially smaller ones to have and online presence as this will
make it easier for potential customers to reach them.
II. The Nigerian government should support citizens who do business in the online space rather than
making policies that make it difficult to carry out their businesses whether it be buying or selling.
5.3.1 FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS
I. The current project is just a demo of what will eventually be a bigger system. Below are some of
the features that will eventually be added:
II. Over time, the store will sell not only mobile phones but a host of other computing devices. More
online payment options like quick teller, interswitch, flutterwave etc will be added to make the
online payment process more convenient.
III. Users will be given discounts or store credits whenever they spend above a certain threshold, they
will also be able to request the store credit be turned in money and sent to their bank accounts.
IV. There will be better meta data control, this will help the website rank well when key words
relevant to the site are searched.
V. The user interface designs will also change overtime.
VI. The store will remain dedicated to selling its products at a lower rate than other online or physical
mobile stores.
VII. A feature that alerts users when an item they wanted is back in stock will also be implemented.
VIII. An instalment payment system will eventually be introduced. This system will give users the
option to pay monthly for products that meet the instalment payments criteria. This feature will
be subjected to strict terms and conditions.
IX. As time goes on, there will definitely be more ideas that will be implemented even though they
are not discussed here.
REFERENCES
Almeida, G. A. A. (2007). Promoting E-Commerce in Developing Countries. Retrieved from:
https://www.academia.edu/29450080/Leveraging_E_Commerce_Opportunities_for_Developing_
Countries
Andrew Powell-Morse. (2016). “Waterfall Model: What Is It and When Should You Use It?” Retrieved
from https://airbrake.io/blog/sdlc/waterfall-model
Breakout. (2021) Rapid Application Development. Retrieved from:
https://getbreakout.com/no-code/rapid-application-development/
Chavan, J. (2013). Internet Banking- Benefits and Challenges in an Emerging Economy. International
Journal of Research in Business Management, Vol.1(1), pp. 19-26
Clayton, T and Chiara Criscuolo. (2002). Electronic Commerce and Business Change. National statistics
vol.1(1)
Harris, L. and Spence, L. J. (2002). The ethics of Banking. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research,
Vol. 3(2).
Intelegain Tecnologies. (2019). Spiral Development Model | Software Development. Retrieved from:
http://www.intelegain.com/spiral/
Javapoint. (2022). Incremental Model. Retrieved from: https://www.javatpoint.com/software-engineering-
incremental-model
Kela (December 28, 2021). Everything you need to know about scrum methodology. Retrieved from:
https://travel-guide.club/?ts_id=115
Laudon, K. C., & Traver, C.G. (2018). Introduction to Ecommerce: business. technology. society. (5th
ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Educational
Miva, M. and Miva, B. (2011). The History of Ecommerce: How Did It All Begin?. Retrieved From
http://www.miva.com/blog/the-history-of-ecommerce-how -didit-all-begin
Molla, A., and Heeks, R. (2007). Exploring Ecommerce benefits for businesses in a developing. countryx.
The Information Society
Meera Academy. (2022). DFD diagram for online shopping website. Retrieved from:
https://meeraacademy.com/dfd-diagram-for-online-shopping-website/ 57
Nanehkaran, Y. A. (2013). An Introduction to Electronic Commerce. International Journal of Scientific
& Technology Research, Vol. 2(4), pp.190-193.
Pal Kienitz. (2017). “The pros and cons of Waterfall Software Development” Retrieved from
https://www.dcslsoftware.com/pros-cons-waterfall-software-development/
Ray, J. S. (2011). Leveling E-Commerce Opportunities for Developing Countries. SMC University. Swiss
Management Centre, Transknowlogy Campus.
UNCTAD (2015). Information economy report 2005: Unlocking the Potentials of e-commerce for
developing countries. United Nations Publication.
UKEssays. (2018). Waterfall Methodology in Software Development. Retrieved from
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/computer-science/waterfall-methodology-in-software-
development.php?vref=1
Visual Paradigm. (2022) Online Shopping System Context Diagram. Retrieved from:
https://getbreakout.com/no-code/rapid-application-development/
Wikipedians. (2013). “Modern Software Methodologies for Software Engineering” Retrieved From
https://learn.umuc.edu/d2l/le/content/354997/viewContent/14199255/View
Worldofitech. (June, 2021). Prototype Model in software Engineering: methodology, Process, Approach.
Retrieved from: https://www.worldofitech.com/prototyping-model-in-software-engineering/
Zwass, V. (2022). E-commerce, Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from:
https://www.britannica.com/technology/e-commerce
