Human or Virtual? A Study on Consumer Preferences for E‐Commerce Streamers

Abstract

With the rapid growth of live commerce, both human streamers and virtual streamers are jointly shaping the landscape of the live‐streaming industry. When selecting a streamer type, should firms opt for human streamers or virtual streamers to more effectively stimulate consumer purchase behavior? Moreover, is this effect critically moderated by product type? To address these questions, grounded in social presence theory, we conducted two scenario‐based experiments to systematically examine the interactive effect of streamer type (human vs. virtual) and product type (utilitarian vs. hedonic) on consumers' purchase intention. We further identify social presence as the underlying mediating mechanism and brand trust as a key moderator of the relationship between social presence and purchase intention. The findings reveal that human streamers are more effective in enhancing purchase intention for utilitarian products, whereas virtual streamers demonstrate greater efficacy for hedonic products. Social presence mediates this congruence effect between streamer type and product type. Furthermore, brand trust positively moderates the influence of social presence on purchase intention. This study advances a mechanism‐based account of matching between streamer type and product type in live commerce, identifying social presence as the underlying process and brand trust as a boundary condition, and offers actionable insights for firms regarding streamer selection, content design, and brand trust cultivation.