How cool virtual streamer influences customer in live-streaming commerce? An explanation of stereotype content model

Wei Gao, Ning Jiang and Qingqing Guo

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2025, vol. 82, issue C

Abstract: Virtual streamers, powered by sophisticated artificial intelligence technologies, have been increasingly adopted in live-streaming commerce. Despite the rise in relevant studies, little is known about how the coolness of virtual streamers affects customers in the context of live-streaming commerce. Using online survey data, this study empirically examined the effects of coolness factors including attractiveness, subculture, utility, and originality on purchase intention based on the stereotype content model. The results suggested that most of the coolness factors played critical roles in improving competence and warmth, which in turn induce purchase intention. However, subculture was found to exert a nonsignificant effect on warmth. In addition, the findings from a multi-group analysis indicated that the coolness factors varied in their effect on customers depending on whether a virtual streamer performed live streaming cooperating with or without a human streamer. The results of the study contribute to deepening the understanding of virtual streamers, the literature on coolness, and the stereotype content model, as well as offer insightful implications for live-streaming commerce practices.

Keywords: Virtual streamer; Coolness; Warmth; Competence; Live-streaming commerce (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698924004351
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joreco:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s0969698924004351

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104139

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services is currently edited by Harry Timmermans

More articles in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().