Influence of Streamer Characteristics on Trust and Purchase Intention in Live Stream Shopping

Live stream shopping is gaining global popularity, notably in China and Austria, with major brands like BIPA, L’Oréal, and IKEA adopting this approach. This new format, featuring interactive product showcases by streamers, addresses traditional online shopping limitations such as insufficient product information and lack of retailer trust. This study investigates how streamer characteristics affect trust and purchase intentions in Austrian live stream shoppers, focusing on two streamer roles: experts and influencers. Based on the SOR model and source models, the research involved a quantitative experiment with 188 participants viewing live stream scenarios. Results indicate streamer attractiveness and expertise significantly boost trust and purchase intent. Attractiveness has a stronger trust correlation with influencers, while expertise is more influential for experts. Trust positively impacts purchase intentions for both roles. However, 63% of Austrians aged 18–59 show reluctance towards buying via live streams. The study also finds experts rate higher in attractiveness and expertise than influencers.