An empirical investigation of the impact of influencer live-streaming ads in e-commerce platforms on consumers’ buying impulse
ISSN: 1066-2243
Article publication date: 29 December 2022
Issue publication date: 17 July 2023
Abstract
Purpose
E-commerce live streaming is a new influencer advertising method that allows influencers to interact directly with consumers on e-commerce platforms. Although evidence suggests that influencer live-streaming advertisements (ads) on social media can increase consumers’ buying impulses, little research examined how this similar but new advertising method on e-commerce platforms may influence consumers’ urge to buy impulsively. This study explores the role of influencer credibility, celebrity effect, perceived entertainment, trust and perceived usefulness on consumers’ attitudes toward influencer ads and their urge to buy impulsively.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire containing seven constructs was developed and distributed to participants using a convenient sample and snowball sampling approach. The constructs were measured based on validated measurement items from the literature and adjusted according to this study’s focus. A total of 236 valid responses were obtained from the survey and used for data analysis. A partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was employed for parameter estimation and model testing.
Findings
The empirical results show that all constructs influenced consumers’ urge to buy impulsively via attitude toward influencer ads. The proposed research model explains 61.7% of the variance in attitude toward influencer ads and 19.4% of the urge to buy impulsively.
Originality/value
This is an early study investigating the relationship between influencer advertising and impulse buying. The results provide valuable insights into improving the design of influencer ads and marketing strategies.
Highlights
I-eIB model tests the mechanism of influencer ads on consumers’ buying impulse.
Consumers’ attitude towards influencer ads affects their urge to buy impulsively.
Influencer credibility affects consumer attitude via celebrity effect as a mediator.
Trust affects consumer attitude via perceived usefulness as a mediator.
Entertaining ads help develop favorable consumer attitude.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 71904062 and 72001091); Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (grant numbers 2020A1515110889) and Funding by Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou (grant number 202201010430). The authors would like to sincerely thank the editors and reviewers for their valuable comments and constructive advice on this paper. They would also like to express sincere thanks to Hao Xiang Li, Yan Feng Li and Qing Wen Xia for their dedicated work in the data collection and preprocessing.
Citation
Yan, M., Kwok, A.P.K., Chan, A.H.S., Zhuang, Y.S., Wen, K. and Zhang, K.C. (2023), "An empirical investigation of the impact of influencer live-streaming ads in e-commerce platforms on consumers’ buying impulse", Internet Research, Vol. 33 No. 4, pp. 1633-1663. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-11-2020-0625
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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