How does online streaming reform e-commerce? An empirical assessment of immersive experience and social interaction in China

Abstract

The present study examined why live-stream commerce is superior to traditional e-commerce since its retail sales have been booming in China and the communication style with live broadcast technology is entirely different. An integrated model was employed to predict the drivers or restraints of this new business model to substantiate the existence of a lacuna in understanding individual and situational influences. The research described a study that used a combination of information processing theory and flow theory within a Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework to investigate how individual factors and situational factors influence the experience of flow. An integrated model was proposed that stimuli such as individual (i.e., perceived interactivity) and situational influences (i.e., dynamic characteristics and atmosphere clues) can elicit the intrinsic states of organisms (i.e., immersive experience and social interaction), which then result in a response (i.e., online purchase intention). Some shoppers with live-streaming experiences in China were invited to participate in online surveys in 2020. The structural equation modeling results (n = 408) show that atmosphere clues and perceived interactivity of streaming attributes can contribute to both immersive experience and social interaction, predicting consumers’ intention to transact in the new e-commerce. However, the current dynamic/situational infrastructures can only improve the immersive experience but do not assure effective social interaction, leading to the need for continuous tasks in digital development and the directions for future research.