Virtual Human Influencer and Its Impact on Consumer Purchase Intention

Abstract

Due to the extensive usage of online influencers by marketers, "influencer marketing", a form of which a business recruits and financially compensates social media influencers to spread stories about its product among their thousands of followers, is rising in popularity [1]. Among all kinds of influencer, virtual influencers are digital creatures who naturally love digital products like NFTs and video game skins, making them better spokespeople for metaverse themes. In response to customer demand, the number of effective and active virtual influencers is growing. There are 58 percent of US customers surveyed in March 2022 were already following a virtual influencer. The question in this study is whether customers bought products after virtual influencer recommended. In another word, virtual influencer contact may affect consumers' buying intentions. This study tends to present that in offline and online purchasing contests, virtual influencers improve customer buying intention. According to the finding of this study, the presence of a virtual influencer increases the consumer's propensity to make a purchase once this consumer has been exposed to the presence of the influencer.