Design and implementation of the LUT second-hand goods trading platform

Abstract

With the advent of the digital age, the trend of sustainable consumption has become increasingly obvious among students with strong environmental awareness. Although Finland's second-hand goods trading market is mature, existing platforms are mostly in Finnish, which poses a barrier to use for international students. Therefore, it was necessary to design and develop UniTrade, a second-hand goods trading platform with an English interface, for the students of the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology.

The UniTrade platform adopts a browser/server model and a three-tier architecture design, including presentation layer, business logic layer, and data access layer. Using a variety of web development technologies, the front-end of the platform uses the Vue.js framework, which enhances the responsiveness and interactivity of the user interface and supports the provision of a smooth user experience. Specific functions include user registration and login, goods browsing and search, goods posting and editing, shopping cart management, and message exchange.The back-end uses Node.js to support the dynamic needs of the trading platform. The database is powered by PostgreSQL 15.2, ensuring a robust, secure and scalable database solution. UniTrade meets the needs of the students of the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology in terms of functionality and performance.

UniTrade demonstrates the potential and benefits of applying a consumer-to-consumer e-commerce model in a university environment, improving resource efficiency and supporting environmental goals and sustainable development.