Effects of streamer effort and popularity on livestream retailing performance: a mixed-method study

Bo Lu (), Guoxin Li () and Jiaoju Ge ()
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Bo Lu: Harbin Institute of Technology
Guoxin Li: Harbin Institute of Technology
Jiaoju Ge: Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen)

Electronic Commerce Research, 2025, vol. 25, issue 4, No 7, 2553-2583

Abstract: Abstract Livestreaming, as a new e-retail medium, empirically enhances performance. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for examining how livestreamers’ effort and popularity affect livestream product sales and virtual gifts through social interaction. This study employed a mixed-method approach with panel data from the Kuaishou platform. The data consisted of 47,661 livestream retailing activities by 947 livestreamers (Study 1), 445 questionnaires (Study 2), and 10 streamer interviews (Study 3). Our results indicated that streamer effort had a direct positive effect on livestream product sales, while streamer popularity had a direct positive effect on livestream virtual gifts. Furthermore, social interaction mediated the effects of streamers’ effort and popularity on livestream product sales and virtual gifts, respectively. Our results have strategic implications for practitioners when it comes to selecting and cultivating streamers for livestream campaigns.

Keywords: Livestream retailing performance; Streamer effort; Streamer popularity; Social interaction; Online influencer marketing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s10660-023-09757-7

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