ShopEase: A MERN Stack Based E-Commerce Web Application with Rule-Based Chatbot Assistance

Assistant Professor, Department of MCA, BIT, K.R. Road, V.V. Pura, Bangalore, India2

Abstract: The rapid growth of online shopping has increased the demand for scalable, secure, and user-friendly e-commerce platforms. This paper presents ShopEase, a full-stack e-commerce web application developed using the MERN stack, which includes MongoDB, Express.js, React.js, and Node.js. The system enables users to browse products, manage shopping carts, and complete secure transactions through an integrated backend architecture. A key innovation of this project is the integration of a rule-based live chatbot, implemented using pure JavaScript, which provides real-time assistance to users by answering frequently asked questions, guiding navigation, and improving user engagement without relying on external AI services. Security is ensured using JSON Web Token (JWT) based authentication for safe user sessions and role-based access control. The results demonstrate that ShopEase offers an efficient, modular, and scalable solution suitable for modern e-commerce applications.

Keywords: E-Commerce, MERN Stack, React.js, Node.js, MongoDB, JWT Authentication, Rule-Based Chatbot