Analysis of Young Chinese Purchase Intention on TikTok Live Streaming

Abstract

Nowadays, social commerce (S-commerce) has been pervasive and has become the mainstream sales and purchase channel. Live streaming as a form of S-commerce is the most popular and promising online commerce in recent years. Live streaming is based on real-time communication, which builds an instant relationship between live streamers and viewers, and this connection greatly helps emotional resonance and marketing promotion. As Generation Z gradually becomes the primary users of social media and their purchasing power continues to increase, it is significant for businesses and scholars to explore the internal connection between Generation Z and live streaming shopping. However, even though there are many surveys and reports on Generation Z, their studies have not thoroughly analyzed the purchase intention of Generation Z on live streaming. Therefore, building a conceptual framework by integrating the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the uses and gratifications theory (UGT), this study measures Generation Z users' purchasing intention on TikTok, Chinese mainstream live streaming platform. The results identify that users' perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, motivations for ritualized use, and instrumental use are significantly associated with their purchase intention through live streaming. This paper provides theoretical and managerial implications for scholars and marketers.