The Emerging Phenomenon of Shopstreaming: Gaining a More Nuanced Understanding of the Factors Which Drive It

Abstract

Over the past decade, the concept and practice of shopstreaming (also known as livestream shopping) have grown significantly within the e-business world, as it integrates live streaming technology with e-commerce. However, the relationship between the perceived benefits of this shopping mode and the intention to use it is not fully understood. This research seeks to enhance the current understanding of this relationship by studying the association in the context of fashion and personal care (FPC) goods. Uniquely, the study bases its core model on a combination of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and some elements of the enhanced stimulus–organism–response (ESOR) theory, which incorporates cognitive, emotional and physiological processes within the organism component. This enables the development of a framework which facilitates the examination of the relationship between perceived benefits and intention to purchase within a shopstreaming environment, moderated by attitude (organism). The uniqueness of the study is further enhanced by the inclusion and analysis of perceived platform quality and the streamer’s (seller’s) influence as moderating constructs. These analyses were carried out using data from 901 respondents to a structured questionnaire, collected over a 4-month period. The results of the study showed that the seller has a significant moderating effect on the mediation of intention to purchase by attitude, though the mediation between perceived benefits and attitude was not affected by perceived platform quality. The study therefore offers significant insights to Saudi FPC brands, streamers and marketing agencies to develop and optimise sales and content strategy.