Development of mobile product sharing and search system (Part I)

For several decades, consumers had to hop from one store to another simply to browse and search for products that caught their interests. However, with the power of modern technology such as the Internet, consumers can now browse and purchase the desired products online within the comfort of their own homes, easy and fast. In recent years, online shopping is increasingly popular and has become the preferred mode of shopping. Such phenomenon might be due to the many online retailers emerging in the market, offering consumers a large variety of options. Another possible “push” for the rise in online shopping is social media. As social networks have evolved, so have the ways people share, consume, and discover information. The consumer has now become a brand’s most influential stakeholder, wielding the ability to influence friends and peers significantly more than advertisers.i Therefore, in order for any retailing sites to continue thriving, it must be able to effectively and seamlessly integrate with social media to ensure that content can be shared easily. The objective of this project is to implement a web application, Deals Interest, that serves as a platform for users to share and sell products to their peers and friends. This web application will also integrate social media and location based services. The author will work concurrently with another FYP teammate who will develop the mobile application for the site. Furthermore, the author will also develop a set of API to provide a consistent platform for both the web and mobile applications to consume. In this report, the author documents the various stages of the software development lifecycle, from the requirements analysis, design and development stages all the way to the deployment stage. Finally, the author concludes the report with a summary of the work done and outline future recommendations for the project.Bachelor of Engineering (Computer Science