Investigating the Optimum Attribute Combination of Footwear Products in a Physical Store by BWM-RST Method

In order to obtain higher profits, physical stores need to understand customers' preferences for various attributes of their products, so as to formulate a reasonable purchase and supply strategy. However, there is no research on the importance of each attribute of footwear products. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of each attribute of footwear products in a physical store by BWM-RST method, and determine the optimal attribute combination. In the study, the five product attributes of style, color, heel height, shape of heel / sole and shape of toe cap of 9 women's shoes were studied. The BWM-RST comprehensive attribute importance and product attribute decision rules were calculated according to a questionnaire survey conducted among 20 customers and in-store sales data in 2 months. Outcome showed that the order of importance of these five attributes is: color > style > shape of heel / sole > heel height > shape of toe cap, and their weight are 0.28, 0.26, 0.21, 0.16 and 0.09 respectively. The best attribute combinations are black color + fashionable and leisure style + flat heel + no heel, or black color + business official style + middle heel + thick heel. Therefore, BWM-RST method can effectively offer the best order and supply strategy for physical stores to obtain higher profits.