The Role of Streamer Type in Consumer Trust Formation and Repurchase Intention in Live-Streaming Shopping

Abstract

With the gradual maturation of live-streaming e-commerce, some merchants invest substantial resources in hiring celebrity streamers, attempting to leverage their influence and credibility to enhance consumer trust and achieve long-term growth. However, against the backdrop of high return rates and low repurchase rates, whether this celebrity-driven operational model can truly achieve sustainable development remains questionable, and relevant research on this issue remains limited. Therefore, guided by Source Credibility Theory and informed by the post-consumption perspective of Expectation–Confirmation Theory, this study employs partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine consumer trust formation and repurchase intention. The results indicate that perceived product quality, perceived interactivity, and perceived attractiveness significantly enhance consumer trust, which in turn positively influences repurchase intention. However, perceived discount has no significant effect on trust, suggesting that relying solely on low-price strategies may be insufficient to support trust-based repurchase intention. Furthermore, the MGA results show that streamer type does not significantly moderate the relationship between perceived characteristics and consumer trust. These findings suggest that celebrity identity alone may not be sufficient to reshape the trust-formation mechanism in live-streaming e-commerce. This study provides theoretical and practical insights for understanding consumer trust formation and promoting the sustainable development of live-streaming e-commerce.