Improving consumer stickiness in livestream e-commerce: A mixed-methods study

Abstract

With the continuous development and improvement of Internet media technologies in China, the influence of livestream e-commerce is becoming increasingly prominent, and an increasing number of people are engaging in consumption activities in this field. It is important to study consumer stickiness in livestream e-commerce to promote economic structure adjustment and innovation-driven development. Therefore, in this study, we adopted the expectation confirmation theory (ECT) as the theoretical framework and analyzed the ECT and stickiness. The study considered satisfaction as the previous influencing factor of user and consumer stickiness, replaced the continuance intention in the expectation confirmation model with consumer stickiness as the explanatory variable, introduced the variable of perceived playfulness as the value perception after user experience, and established a consumer stickiness factors model. A total of 262 valid questionnaires were collected in this study, and SmartPLS analysis along with interviews were used to justify the limitations of data analysis. The results of the study demonstrated a significant effect of perceived usefulness and confirmation on satisfaction, a significant effect of confirmation on perceived usefulness, a significant effect of satisfaction on stickiness, and a significant effect of confirmation on perceived playfulness. Based on findings from the data analysis and interviews, we further proposed rationalized recommendations, and aimed to provide some theoretical guidance for future research on live streaming.

Formation mechanism of user stickiness in live e-commerce: the hybrid PLS-SEM and ANN approach

“…Meanwhile, research on user stickiness in live e-commerce is still limited. Some studies have conducted research on it from perspectives of the socio-technical approach , emotional labor (Shi et al, 2021), interactivity affordance (Ma, 2023), expectation confirmation theory (Shen et al, 2022) and information system success model (Bao and Zhu, 2023). However, there is still a research gap in exploring the formation mechanism of user stickiness from the perspective of streamer attributes, which has become the driving force of this study.…”

“…It is necessary to explore the factors that affect the decision-making process of customer stickiness intention. Researchers have studied the mechanism underlying stickiness from the perspectives of the socio-technical approach , emotional labor (Shi et al, 2021), interactivity affordance (Ma, 2023), expectation confirmation theory (Shen et al, 2022) and information system success model (Bao and Zhu, 2023). However, unlike the rapid development in practice, further studies of user stickiness in live e-commerce are required.…”

“…Unlike traditional e-commerce, live e-commerce creates a scene of instant two-way interaction and real-time display of products, which enhances the users' multi-dimensional shopping experience and has the advantages of solid interactivity and a high conversion rate (Xu et al, 2021). As a unique new marketing method, it has extensively promoted the development of the consumer goods industry (Shen et al, 2022).…”

“…As more and more e-commerce platforms are equipped with livestreaming functions, it is easy to switch from one platform to another that provides similar services, leading to the formulation of new business strategies by major livestreaming platforms to retain customers. Many live e-commerce sales activities aim to establish consumer stickiness, generating sustained viewership and purchasing behavior through this stickiness (Shen et al, 2022). For example, on the one hand, the streamer responds to users in real-time to establish intimacy by introducing hot topics; on the other hand, based on the platform's sociality, the barrage activity is enriched to give full play to the characteristics of immediacy whose purpose is to enhance user stickiness by creating a good user experience.…”

“…, 2021). As a unique new marketing method, it has extensively promoted the development of the consumer goods industry (Shen et al. , 2022).…”