The influence of the sensation of presence on purchase intention in livestream shopping: a study in the retail industry of Vietnam

Abstract

This research investigates the influence of presence on livestream shopping behavior, aiming to shed light on the mechanisms that enhance consumer engagement and purchase intentions in the context of live streaming commerce. Livestream shopping has emerged as a new retail model that combines the convenience of online shopping with the interactivity and real-time experience of traditional in-store shopping. The research model used to test the proposed hypotheses is developed by applying flow theory and the S-O-R framework. Accordingly, the sensation of presence is defined as the feeling of being immersed and connected within a virtual environment, which generates flow experience and trust to form purchase intention. An online survey was used to gather the information from 336 respondents and examined by a two-stage modeling method through PLS-SEM. The findings of this research show that both dimensions of presence, including telepresence and social presence, have a significantly positive influence on purchase intentions, both directly and indirectly. Based on the results explored, theoretical and practical implications for managers and online sellers provide them with valuable suggestions for live streaming commerce strategies.