Analysis and Feature Extraction of Situation-dependent Product Selection Using Earphones as an Example

: This paper describes differences in product selection according to the location and situation of product use. Specifically, the authors examined the variation in earphone selection for each intended location and situation of use. Multiple comparison tests indicated that location had an effect on the types of earphones selected, depending on the situation of use. The similarity of the earphones selected for each location and situation was determined using quantification theory type III. The results showed that the similarity of the selected earphones differed according to both the location and situation. Moreover, the attributes that were important in the selection process were visualized using decision tree analysis in cases when similar products were selected. This work can contribute to providing decision support for product selection.