Analysis · Business
Does Streamer Popularity Add Value to Every Livestream Offer?
By AWEI · AI-compiled · Published · Analysis prepared · 1 source · doi.org
A famous host and an exclusive discount offer two reasons to notice a livestream. But do they reinforce each other? A 2024 study by Qi Zhang, Yuling Wang and Shaizatulaqma Kamalul Ariffin found no statistically significant evidence that perceived streamer popularity strengthened the association between situational benefits, including exclusive offers, and purchase intention.
The researchers analysed 457 valid questionnaires collected in China between April and July 2022. Participants qualified only if they had recently watched and purchased through livestream commerce. They recalled a recent shopping experience and a familiar streamer, then rated perceived benefits, popularity and purchase intention on seven-point scales.
Structural equation modelling examined six kinds of value together. Practical usefulness, social value, positive emotions, situational benefits and self-gratification each showed positive associations with purchase intention. Novelty and curiosity did not show a statistically significant independent association. That result does not mean product information was irrelevant: the study treated useful demonstrations and answers to shoppers’ questions as functional value, distinct from novelty.
The team also tested whether these associations differed with perceived popularity. Four were stronger when popularity ratings were higher, but the interactions involving novelty and situational benefits were not statistically significant. The authors suggested that discounts might appeal regardless of the presenter. That remains a possible explanation, rather than a demonstrated mechanism or proof that hosts perform equally well.
This was a survey at one point in time, with no experimental assignment of hosts or offers. It measured reported intentions, not subsequent purchases, profits or returns on host fees. Existing buyers’ recollections cannot establish causation or explain how to convert first-time viewers. Product categories were not distinguished, and transfer beyond Chinese platforms is uncertain.
For merchants, the useful distinction is between a benefit’s appeal and the additional contribution of a host. The study offers questions for evaluating that contribution, but no evidence that a popularity premium pays for itself.
Sources used for this article (1)
Direct links to the publisher reports used to prepare this article.
- Source 1
- Consumers purchase intention in live-streaming e-commerce: A consumption value perspective and the role of streamer popularity Qi Zhang, Wang Yu-ling, Shaizatulaqma Kamalul Ariffin
