Abstract

With advances in artificial intelligence, virtual streamers have rapidly emerged in the field of e-commerce live broadcasting. However, the differences in effectiveness and underlying mechanisms between virtual and human streamers remain unclear. Drawing on social role theory, this study conducts two scenario-based experiments to examine how streamer type (virtual vs. human) influences consumer purchase intention. It further investigates the mediating role of trust and the moderating role of product type. The results show that human streamers significantly increase consumer purchase intentions compared to virtual streamers. Moreover, product type moderates this effect. This study offers practical implications for firms in selecting appropriate streamer types based on product characteristics.

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