An investigation of the factors that influence purchase intention in live-streaming commerce

Abstract

As an emerging form of social commerce, live streaming shopping is the new craze for Chinese merchants and customers. Given its recent emergence, only limited research has examined live streaming shopping. In particular, few researchers have delved into the question of how do customers perceive this innovation and how does the novelty bring about changes in shopping behavior. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that impact consumer purchase intention when watching live broadcasts. Live-streaming shopping was examined from three perspectives: the impact of internet celebrities, social features, and marketing-related features. Furthermore, consumer attitudes toward live-streaming shopping were measured using the integrating constructs, namely, the perceived usefulness and enjoyment, adapted from technology acceptance literature. The research instrument used for this study was an online questionnaire that was completed by people who have watched shopping-related live broadcasts in the last six months. Respondents were recruited through various sampling frames. A total of 234 valid surveys were received, with a completion rate of 58.6%. The analysis involved the evaluation of measurement model, including reliability test, convergent validity test and discriminant validity test, which together indicated the validity and reliability of the constructs, followed by the evaluation of structural model that examined the significance of all 14 hypothesized paths. Descriptive analysis was also conducted to illustrate the sample’s demographics and general live-streaming shopping experience.The results of the measurement model evaluation validated its satisfactory validity and reliability, while the results of the structural model evaluation showed that purchase intention is greatly influenced by consumer attitudes toward the live-streaming shopping experience, which in turn are significantly affected by the streamer as well as the unique features of live-streaming shopping. Conceptual and managerial implications based on results were also discussed to shed light on future live streaming commerce development.