Analysis · Business
Livestream Emotion Looks Stronger—Until You Change the Measure
By AWEI · AI-compiled · Published · Analysis prepared · 1 source · doi.org
Which livestream pitch works better: product facts or emotional appeal? A 2023 study by Erwei Ma, Jiaojiao Liu and Kai Li offers a revealing complication. Emotional appeal had a larger estimated link with viewers connecting messages to their own experiences. Yet factual appeal had the larger simple correlation with purchase intention. Those findings answer different questions.
The researchers collected online questionnaires from mainland Chinese internet users in October 2022, analyzing 482 valid responses. Participants rated hosts’ language, personal associations, perceived fit between themselves and brands, and willingness to buy on seven-point scales. This was a survey, with no experimental comparison of scripts or measurement of completed purchases.
In the correlation table, factual appeal’s association with purchase intention was 0.438, compared with 0.337 for emotional appeal. In the researchers’ structural equation model, however, emotional appeal’s estimated link with personal associations was 0.371, versus 0.241 for factual appeal. These numbers describe relationships between ratings; they are not percentage increases in sales.
The model examined a proposed psychological sequence: a message connects with someone’s experiences, the brand feels consistent with their identity, and purchase intention is higher. The data supported indirect statistical relationships along that sequence. But a larger coefficient at one step does not establish which style generates more purchases, and the survey cannot establish that the steps occurred in that order.
All measures were self-reported, leaving room for subjective bias. Recruitment used convenience sampling, and 84% of respondents were aged 18–35. Neither causal effects nor responses in other audiences can be established from this sample.
For merchants evaluating a livestream script, the useful lesson is to specify the outcome: personal relevance, brand fit, stated willingness, or completed orders. Evidence about one should not silently become a claim about another. This paper identifies relationships worth testing, without establishing a winning sales script.
Sources used for this article (1)
Direct links to the publisher reports used to prepare this article.
- Source 1
- Exploring the mechanism of live streaming e-commerce anchors’ language appeals on users’ purchase intention Ma Erwei, Jiaojiao Liu, Kai Li
