Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596

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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser

Factors influencing behavioral intentions in livestream shopping: A

cross-cultural study
Shaowen Ni a, *, Hideo Ueichi b
a
Department of Industrial Management System, Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
b
Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling Editor: Prof. H. Timmermans This study aimed to clarify two research questions: (1) How do perceptions of livestream shopping differ between
users and non-users across the United States (US), China, and Japan? and (2) Among American, Chinese, and
Keywords: Japanese users, how do personal traits influence perceived social presence and attitudes toward livestream
Livestream shopping shopping, and how do social presence and attitudes influence behavioral intentions toward livestream shopping?
Change seeking
A three-country online survey was conducted in 2023. For Research Question 1, regarding perceptions of
Anticipated regret
stimulating purchases, facilitating communication, and improving personal quality of life, American non-users
Trust
Social presence (N = 480) were significantly more positive than Japanese non-users (N = 572); regarding improving personal
Interpersonal orientation quality of life and societal benefits, Chinese users (N = 563) were significantly more positive than American users
Attitudes (N = 290). Results for Research Question 2 showed commonalities and differences between the US and China.
Behavioral intentions Both countries showed positive effects of interpersonal orientation and trust in streamers on social presence, of
change seeking and social presence on utilitarian attitudes, and of anticipated regret and social presence on
hedonic attitudes. Main differences included the stronger influence of general online trust on utilitarian attitudes
in the US versus the stronger influence of trust in streamers on both utilitarian and hedonic attitudes in China.

1. Introduction
Livestream shopping (also known as livestream commerce) is an
emerging form of e-commerce that combines the three elements of live
video, online shopping, and instant interaction. During livestream
shopping, merchants, or influencers (e.g., celebrities, netizens) will
show viewers products, explain their features and usage, and perhaps
even conduct live demonstrations or tastings through live video
streaming. Livestream shopping has grown rapidly in the People’s Re­
public of China (hereinafter China) in the past few years. According to
market research firm eMarketer, livestream shopping (conducted via
retail websites or social networks) sales in China exceeded US$514
billion in 2022, are predicted to grow by 19% in 2023, and account for
more than 17% of all e-commerce sales in China (Cheung and
Cramer-Flood, 2023).
Although livestream shopping has been researched by scholars, the
existing literature has several limitations. First, existing studies
regarding livestream shopping focus on only one country. However,
consumer cognition or behavior can vary across cultural contexts,
especially between Eastern and Western countries (Markus and
Kitayama, 1991). For example, Shobeiri et al. (2018) showed that the
influence of the perceived experiential value of a company’s website on
website involvement and customers’ patronage intentions was stronger
for North Americans than for Chinese. Therefore, focusing on only one
country could affect the generalizability of a study’s results and it is not
useful with regards to understanding the differences in livestream
shopping among different countries.
Second, existing studies have only examined livestream shoppers,
the streamers, or users who only watch live streaming. To our knowl­
edge, no studies have compared users with non-users. Thus, the differ­
ence between user and non-user perceptions of livestream shopping
remains unclear. In particular, whether users and non-users differ in
their opinions of whether livestream shopping benefits consumers and
society in addition to increasing a company’s sales is a matter of
concern.
Third, existing studies have focused on values, such as usefulness or
entertainment (Bawack et al., 2023; Guo et al., 2022; Joo and Yang,
2023; Wongkitrungrueng and Assarut, 2020), immersion or flow (Joo
and Yang, 2023; Liao et al., 2023; Sun et al., 2019; Zheng et al., 2023),
social presence (Chen and Liao, 2022; Ma, 2021; Sun et al., 2019; Zheng

* Corresponding author. Department of Industrial Management System, Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan.
E-mail addresses: ni.shaowen.g3@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp (S. Ni), ueichi@sk.tsukuba.ac.jp (H. Ueichi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2023.103596
Received 12 August 2023; Received in revised form 20 September 2023; Accepted 5 October 2023
Available online 21 October 2023
0969-6989/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
et al., 2023), interactivity (Bawack et al., 2023; Chen and Liao, 2022;
Joo and Yang, 2023; Liao et al., 2023; Zheng et al., 2023), streamers’
characteristics or expertise (Dang-Van et al., 2023; Guo et al., 2022; Joo
and Yang, 2023; Liao et al., 2023; Zheng et al., 2023), and trust in
streamers (Wongkitrungrueng and Assarut, 2020). Few studies have
explored the influence of consumers’ personalities on livestream shop­
ping. Although all the factors explored in the studies mentioned above
are important, we must examine consumers’ personal characteristics,
such as personality or values, in order to understand behaviors regarding
livestream shopping more comprehensively and from different
perspectives.
Fourth, existing studies are mainly concerned with examining factors
influencing watch or purchase intention (Chen and Liao, 2022; Guo
et al., 2022; Joo and Yang, 2023; Liao et al., 2023; Ma, 2021; Sun et al.,
2019; Zheng et al., 2023) and consumer engagement (Dang-Van et al.,
2023; Wongkitrungrueng and Assarut, 2020) in livestream shopping,
with relatively few studies focusing on factors influencing attitude and
few examining the association between different attitudes (hedonic
attitude vs. utilitarian attitude) and purchase intention.
Fifth, Short et al. (1976, p. 65) define social presence as “the degree
of salience of the other person in the interaction and the consequent
salience of the interpersonal relationships” perceived by individuals
through the medium. They were describing what are now considered
traditional media, such as voice-only telephone calls, in which direct
person-to-person interactions are curtailed in that factors such as
appearance, body language, and other visual cues were not available.
However, many of these factors have become integrated into more
modern media such as interactive websites and social network services.
Indeed, since before Short et al. (1976) suggested a broadening of the
concept of social presence from an objective effect based solely on the
medium to a subjective effect, which, by definition, would include
greater influence from (rather than on) the user/communicator, there
has been a slow, but steady, evolution of its definition to accommodate
the modernization of communication media. For example, Gefen and
Straub (2004) discussed websites and email and Sun et al. (2019) and
Zheng et al. (2023) both applied social presence to livestream shopping.
While the degree of presence or absence of social presence plays a
greater role in how users perceive and feel about many modern media,
livestream shopping is very different from other media: (1) Users can
interact with the streamer in real-time during livestream shopping. This
interactivity allows consumers to truly feel the emotions brought by the
streamer as opposed to by the medium alone. (2) Users can observe and
interact with other users in real-time. They can observe interactions
between other users and streamers, communicate and share experiences
with other users, and understand the behavior of other users (e.g.,
pressing ‘like’, sending reaction icons, and purchasing products).
Although some online shopping platforms also have reviews and
question-answering systems, these are usually not real-time and are less
interactive. In other words, the social presence generated by livestream
shopping emphasizes interactions with actual people rather than with
machine-based online media alone, provides the opportunity to observe
and connect with unknown people including both other users and
streamers, and provides a real-time social environment. Therefore, when
exploring the complex relationship between social presence and live­
stream shopping, in addition to examining the emotions prompted by
the medium itself, it is also important to consider users’ perceptions of
and feelings toward other users and the streamer. Here, while the
environment created by a livestream shopping medium influences users,
because of the real-time, audio-visual, and social aspects of livestream
shopping, the users’ own mindsets and attitudes influence both the
medium and other users. Although some studies (e.g., Sun et al., 2019;
Zheng et al., 2023) have explored the association of social presence with
intentions toward livestream shopping, the method they used to mea­
sure the effect of social presence still followed Short et al. (1976) and
Gefen and Straub (2004) in terms of emotions prompted by the medium;
however, this method has a narrow scope which excludes emotions
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596
engendered by other users, who are strangers. Here, therefore, we would
like to continue the evolution and scope of social presence regarding the
examination of its impact on modern media in general and livestream
shopping in particular.
Sixth, although social presence is an important factor influencing
behavioral intentions toward livestream shopping, very few studies have
examined the factors that influence social presence. Although Chen and
Liao (2022) showed the influence of a sense of community, emotional
support, and interactivity of livestream shopping on social presence,
there is, to our knowledge, no research from the perspective of user
personality or values.
In summary, this study aims to clarify the following two research
questions. Research Question 1: How do the perceptions of livestream
shopping differ between users and non-users across the United States
(US), China, and Japan? Research Question 2: Among American, Chi­
nese, and Japanese users, how do personal traits influence perceived
social presence and attitudes toward livestream shopping, and how do
social presence and attitudes influence behavioral intentions toward
livestream shopping?
2. Literature review and hypothesis development
2.1. Attitudes
Katz and Stotland (1959, p. 428) defined attitude as “an individual’s
tendency or predisposition to evaluate an object or the symbol of that
object in a certain way.” They stated that attitudes are composed of three
components: cognitive, affective, and behavioral. The cognitive
component includes beliefs about an object, its characteristics, and its
relationship to other objects, including its relationship to the consumer
themself. The affective component is the central aspect of attitude
because it is most closely related to the evaluation of an object. The
behavioral component refers to a tendency to take a specific action
regarding an object in addition to expressing feelings about the object
(Katz and Stotland 1959). Voss et al. (2003) divided attitudes into two
dimensions: utilitarian and hedonic. A utilitarian attitude is based on the
instrumental or performance evaluation of the product, focusing on the
functional effect of using a product. A hedonic attitude is based on
feelings derived from the experience of using a product, focusing on
emotional satisfaction (Voss et al., 2003). In this study, we focused on
utilitarian and hedonic attitudes and on the behavioral component (in­
tentions) described by Katz and Stotland (1959).
2.2. Personal traits and attitudes
Some people prioritize the advantages of things and actively seek
stimulation (change seeking), while others prioritize the disadvantages
of things and actively avoid regret (anticipated regret). From this
perspective, we examined the influence of change seeking and antici­
pated regret on attitude.
2.2.1. Change seeking
Change seeking is a personality trait that determines an individual’s
need to achieve a satisfactory level of stimulation. We referred to Gar­
lington and Shimota’s (1964) definition based on the Change Seeker
Index (CSI), which defines change seeking as “the need for variation in
one’s stimulus input in order to maintain optimal functioning” (Gar­
lington and Shimota, 1964, p. 919). Not only do all individuals require
some variety of stimulus, but the optimum amount of stimulus variation
needed to function effectively varies from individual to individual
(Garlington and Shimota, 1964). Optimum Stimulation Level (OSL) is “a
property that characterizes an individual in terms of his general
response to environmental stimuli” (Raju, 1980, p. 272). The CSI is one
measurement of OSL.
OSL plays an important role in various exploratory consumer be­
haviors (Steenkamp and Baumgartner, 1992). For example, individuals
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
with a high OSL are more willing to try new products or services (Raju,
1980; Steenkamp and Baumgartner, 1995), tend toward risk-taking in
the process of consumption (Raju, 1980; Steenkamp and Baumgartner,
1992, 1995), tend toward variety seeking (Mohan et al., 2012; Steen­
kamp and Baumgartner, 1992, 1995) or brand switching (Raju, 1980),
and perceive more experiential or shopping value from consumption
(Chen et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2012).
Livestream shopping has the following characteristics: (1) Live­
stream shopping, as a novel medium, satisfies high-OSL consumers’
needs to try new things; (2) the real-time nature of livestream shopping
and the unpredictability of the content provide consumers with sensory
stimulation and fresh experiences; (3) livestream shopping offers a wide
variety of products, not limited to a certain type or brand, and also
innovative products, which satisfies high-OSL consumers’ pursuits of
varied and novel products; and (4) the unique livestream style of each
streamer brings consumers a new and different experience. Therefore,
we proposed the following hypotheses:
H1a. Change seeking positively influences utilitarian attitudes toward
livestream shopping.
H1b. Change seeking positively influences hedonic attitudes toward
livestream shopping.
2.2.2. Anticipated regret
Anticipated regret refers to a person’s tendency to feel regret during
the decision-making process when they predict that their choice is not
optimal. Regret is a negative cognitive-based emotion that individuals
experience when they realize or imagine that they would be in a better
situation if they had made a different decision, and it can be divided into
experienced regret and anticipated regret according to the timing with
respect to the decision outcome (Zeelenberg, 1999). Experienced regret
is the regret experienced after the decision outcome is known, caused by
actual feedback, while anticipated regret is caused by expected feedback
before the decision outcome is known (Zeelenberg, 1999). Regret is an
important factor influencing behavioral decision-making (Bell, 1982;
Loomes and Sugden, 1982; Simonson, 1992). People anticipate regret
when making decisions and tend to make choices that minimize regret
(Zeelenberg, 1999).
There are two offline and online hybrid consumer behaviors that
could help them mitigate anticipated regret: (1) collecting information
offline but buying products online, which is called showrooming
behavior, and (2) browsing product information online but making final
purchases in physical stores, which is called webrooming behavior.
Existing research suggests that because webrooming can help consumers
avoid negative outcomes such as purchase regret, consumers with a high
tendency toward anticipated regret consider webrooming as a reliable
and smart method of shopping and, thus, exhibit a higher tendency to­
ward webrooming behavior (Arora and Sahney, 2019; Wu et al., 2023).
On the other hand, Gensler et al. (2017) showed that anticipated regret
among showroomers is higher than that among non-showroomers. Ang
et al. (2022) showed that consumers with high levels of anticipated
regret are willing to pay significantly more than those with low levels of
anticipated regret. Livestream shopping, although classified as online
shopping, is very different from website shopping. In website shopping,
text and pictures are the main media, and some websites offer recorded
videos. In contrast, livestream shopping has streamers who introduce
products similarly to offline salespeople, answer users’ questions
immediately, and try or demonstrate products in real-time for users.
Moreover, users can also easily and quickly switch live content ac­
cording to their own preferences. Therefore, livestream shopping is a
smart shopping method for people who want to avoid regrets and choose
carefully. Furthermore, livestream shopping sometimes has a variety of
promotions, such as limited-time discounts and price bundling. These
promotions allow consumers to get more discounts as they shop and
satisfy those who want to avoid regret.
Intent to buy and post-purchase satisfaction can also be influenced by
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the amount of choices available. Iyengar and Lepper (2000) showed that
people are more likely to purchase tasty gourmet jams or chocolates or
to undertake optional class essay assignments when offered a limited
choice of 6 rather than a broader choice of 24 or 30. In addition, their
participants were more satisfied with their choices and wrote better
essays when they were initially limited in their choices. Having many
choices is initially attractive to consumers but could hinder their moti­
vation and satisfaction with subsequent product purchases. Having
many choices becomes unattractive, probably because the more choices
there are, the more likely people are to be worried about the correctness
of their choices, and the more likely they are to prefer not to make a
choice or even to leave the choice to others (Iyengar and Lepper, 2000).
While website shopping, consumers need to select and compare a large
number of products by themselves, which often takes a lot of time and
effort. With livestream shopping, however, the streamer has already
picked the products for the consumer. Consumers can become famil­
iarized with the products more intuitively and comprehensively through
the streamer’s real-time introduction and display of the products, thus
improving the consumers’ confidence in purchasing the product while
also avoiding regret. Thus, the following hypotheses were proposed:
H2a. Anticipated regret positively influences utilitarian attitudes to­
ward livestream shopping.
H2b. Anticipated regret positively influences hedonic attitudes toward
livestream shopping.
2.3. Personal traits and social presence
Horton and Richard Wohl (1956) first proposed the concepts of
parasocial relationships and parasocial interactions. According to them,
a parasocial relationship is a relationship established through mass
media, such as radio, television, and film, in which the audience,
although unable to interact directly with the performer (also known as
Personae), has the illusion of being face-to-face, as if a direct social
relationship existed between them and the performer. Parasocial inter­
action is a form of interaction via mass media, in which the performer
does not communicate directly with the audience, but, through simu­
lated dialogue and indirect interaction with the audience, the audience
feels like a participant while watching, thus creating the illusion that
they are having a real social interaction. It is worth stressing: the
communication provided by the media for which Horton and Wohl
coined the term parasocial was completely one way. More recently, Liao
et al. (2023) applied the term to more modern media and showed that
streamers’ interaction orientation positively impacts viewers’ parasocial
interactions with them. In addition to the parasocial interaction with
streamers, watching other users interact instantly with the streamer has
the potential to generate a parasocial relationship between users.
Ou et al. (2014) proposed that computer-mediated communication
technology can mimic traditional interactive face-to-face communica­
tion to achieve swift Guanxi (a Chinese word describing interpersonal
relationships within a cultural context) in the online marketplace. Swift
Guanxi refers to the buyer’s perception of a rapidly forming interper­
sonal relationship with the seller, which includes mutual understanding,
reciprocal favor, and relationship harmony. The characteristics of live­
stream shopping seem to enable users to perceive a social presence. In
this environment, social presence is both more possible and more real
than in the one-way media explored by Horton and Richard Wohl (1956)
when they coined the term parasocial. The idea of social presence builds
on the idea of parasocial interactions and relationships, or swift Guanxi,
between users and streamers and among users themselves because,
particularly with livestream shopping, participant interactions have
become two-way and real-time.
Interpersonal orientation refers to the values that emphasize the
formation and development of interpersonal relationships. Extraversion
refers to a sociable person who enjoys group activities, implying an
energetic approach toward the social and material world (John, 2021).
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
Social presence is the degree to which an individual perceives others or
interpersonal relationships with others through the medium in the
process of interaction. Hence, the more interpersonal-oriented or ex­
traverted people are, the more likely they are to actively interact with
streamers or other users, and the more likely they are to perceive a
stronger social presence from the streamer or other users through live­
stream shopping. Thus, the following hypotheses were proposed:
H3. Interpersonal orientation positively influences social presence.
H4. Extraversion positively influences social presence.
2.4. Trust, social presence, and attitudes
Mayer et al. (1995, p. 712) defined trust as “the willingness of a party
to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation
that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor,
irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that other party.” Unlike
confidence, trust involves the willingness to assume risk (Mayer et al.,
1995). Trust is widely considered to be an important factor influencing
consumer behavior, especially in contexts where there is uncertainty
and risk, such as online shopping (see Gefen et al., 2003).
Trust can be divided into trust in specific individuals and trust in
general. General trust refers to “trust toward someone about whom no
specific information is present, or trust toward someone about whom
you know nothing except the fact that he or she is a human being”
(Yamagishi, 2011, p. 28). Based on the characteristics of livestream
shopping, this study divides trust into trust in general people on the
Internet and in streamers.
Ni and Ishii (2019) showed that the higher the trust in strangers, the
stronger the association between shopping and interpersonal relation­
ship satisfaction. In the modern world of digitization, trust in strangers
extends to people online, especially in settings such as social media and
livestream shopping. The cornerstone of online social interactions is
people’s trust in others online. In livestream shopping, streamers or
other users are general people online, and the effectiveness of their
recommendations or suggestions in influencing consumer behavior is
likely to be affected by the consumer’s trust in general people online. In
addition, Uslaner (2004) suggested that trusting people tend to feel safer
online, are more inclined toward shopping on the Internet, and less
concerned about potential privacy violations. Therefore, trust in general
people online may reduce perceived risk and increase interactions with
strangers, promoting social presence and attitudes toward livestream
shopping. Thus, the following hypotheses were proposed:
H5a. Trust in general people online positively influences social
presence.
H5b. Trust in general people online positively influences utilitarian
attitudes toward livestream shopping.
H5c. Trust in general people online positively influences hedonic at­
titudes toward livestream shopping.
In livestream shopping, streamers are the source of information and
entertainment and the spokespersons of products or services. Mayer
et al. (1995) proposed that trust will increase the likelihood that the
trustor will establish some affective connection with the trustee. More­
over, previous studies show that trust in sellers promotes consumption
behavior. For example, Wongkitrungrueng and Assarut (2020) showed
that trust in the streamer during livestream shopping contributes to
consumer engagement. Ou et al. (2014) also showed that trust in the
seller affects purchase intentions on shopping sites. Therefore, the
following hypotheses regrading trust in streamers were proposed:
H6a. Trust in streamers positively influences social presence.
H6b. Trust in streamers positively influences utilitarian attitudes to­
ward livestream shopping.
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596
H6c. Trust in streamers positively influences hedonic attitudes toward
livestream shopping.
2.5. Social presence, attitudes, and intention
As mentioned in the Introduction, social presence influences con­
sumers’ behavior during livestream shopping (Chen and Liao, 2022; Ma,
2021; Sun et al., 2019; Zheng et al., 2023). Therefore, perceived social
presence influences consumers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions to­
ward livestream shopping. Thus, the following hypotheses regarding the
influence of social presence on livestream shopping were proposed:
H7a. Social presence positively influences utilitarian attitudes toward
livestream shopping.
H7b. Social presence positively influences hedonic attitudes toward
livestream shopping.
H7c. Social presence positively influences behavioral intentions to­
ward livestream shopping.
According to Fishbein and Icek (1975) Theory of Reasoned Action
and Ajzen’s (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior, attitudes toward the
purchase or use of a product or service influence behavioral intentions to
purchase or use that product or service. On the other hand, utilitarian
attitudes are mainly related to the usefulness and functionality of a
product or service. In the Technology Acceptance Model, perceived
usefulness is an important factor influencing attitudes and behavioral
intentions towards using information technology (Davis et al., 1989).
Continuing in a similar vein, in the Unified Theory of Acceptance and
Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, performance expectancy, which is
the degree to which an individual believes that using the system will
help him or her to attain gains in job performance, is examined as a
factor influencing intentions to use information technology (Venkatesh
et al., 2003). Therefore, the following hypothesis regarding the influ­
ence of utilitarian attitudes on behavioral intention was proposed:
H8a. Utilitarian attitudes toward livestream shopping positively in­
fluence behavioral intentions.
Hedonic attitudes are primarily related to the pleasure or emotional
satisfaction an individual derives from using a product or service. In the
UTAUT, the attitude toward using technology is defined as “an in­
dividual’s overall affective reaction to using a system” (Venkatesh et al.,
2003, p. 455). Although this definition does not explicitly refer to he­
donic attitudes, it is similar to the hedonic attitudes explored in this
study. It is worth noting that although no significant correlation has
been found between attitude toward using technology and intentions to
use information technology in Venkatesh et al.’s (2003) study, live­
stream shopping platforms differ markedly from earlier information
technologies, particularly regarding real-time interaction with people.
Recent studies have shown that perceived entertainment or hedonism
from livestream shopping positively influences users’ behavioral in­
tentions (e.g., Guo et al., 2022; Joo and Yang, 2023). Therefore, the
following hypothesis regarding the influence of hedonic attitudes on
behavioral intention was proposed:
H8b. Hedonic attitudes toward livestream shopping positively influ­
ence behavioral intentions.
The proposed theoretical model is illustrated in Fig. 1.
3. Methods
First, we created a questionnaire in Japanese. Then, we commis­
sioned translation companies to translate it into English and Chinese and
had the translated English and Chinese questionnaires checked sepa­
rately by corresponding native speakers. Next, we commissioned native
speakers of English and Chinese to cross-check the English and Chinese
questionnaires. Once we were able to verify that all three versions were
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
Fig. 1. Proposed theoretical model.
equivalent and accurate, we adopted them for use in this study.
3.1. Sample and data collection
This study commissioned three market research companies to
conduct online questionnaires in the United States, China, and Japan.
Considering the popularity of livestream shopping, the survey was
limited to the three most economically developed cities in the United
States (New York City, the City of Los Angeles, and Chicago), China
(Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou), and Japan (Tokyo (23 wards),
Nagoya, and Osaka). The data for each country were collected based on
the population ratio of each city provided by the respective national
statistical offices. Moreover, data were extracted equally for each age
group and gender, limiting the age range to 18–59 years. The survey
included questions to verify the quality of responses, such as “Please
select ‘Agree strongly’ here, so we know you are answering sincerely.”
Those who did not answer as instructed were removed from our
analyses.
The survey in the United States was commissioned to GMO Research
Inc. and was conducted between January 6 and February 3, 2023, col­
lecting 770 valid responses. The survey in China was commissioned to a
local Chinese online research company, Wenjuan.com, and was con­
ducted between December 29, 2022, and January 5, 2023, yielding 600
valid responses. The survey in Japan was commissioned to Cross Mar­
keting Inc. and was conducted between January 5 and January 11, 2023,
collecting 600 valid responses.
3.2. Measurements
The sources from which the items examined were taken are as fol­
lows. Change seeking was based on the CSI developed by Steenkamp and
Baumgartner (1995). Anticipated regret was adapted from Heitmann
et al. (2007). Interpersonal orientation was adapted from the Guanxi
networking orientation described by Ni (2021). Extraversion was
adapted from the Big Five Scales (BFS) of personality trait terms
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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596
described by Wada (1996) and based on Gough and Heilbrun’s (1971)
adjective check list. Trust in general people online was adapted from
Yamagishi and Yamagishi (1994) and the Asia Pacific Values Survey
(The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, 2010). Finally, the item “Most
people on the Internet have friendly interactions with each other” was
added based on the anonymous nature of the Internet.
In consideration of people who have never used livestream shopping
before, we provided a short text to introduce it and included related
images before asking questions about it. The introductory text was as
follows: “Livestream shopping (online sales over livestream) is a new
sales method in which a streamer (a merchant or an Internet celebrity
hired by the merchant) introduces products digitally using the live­
stream function on social media and livestream video platforms such as
Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. It gives streamers a chance to get a firm
grasp of what questions and opinions their viewers (customers) might
have and to interact with them in real-time. Viewers can make purchases
while looking through questions and comments posted on-screen by
others, as well as engage in text-based chats with the streamer and other
viewers. Examples include Amazon Live (https://www.amazon.com/
live), Instagram and more.” In the Chinese and Japanese question­
naires, introductory texts were changed to include the companies in the
corresponding countries. The images are shown in Figs. 2a, 2b, and 2c.
We should note that these figures are only examples, so Figs. 2b and 2c
display the same streamer to represent the Asian market. However, the
text on Figs. 2b and 2c are Chinese and Japanese, respectively.
Each respondent was first asked whether, as a viewer, they have used
livestream shopping. Then, subsequent questionnaire items were pre­
sented based on each response. Although the contents of the question­
naires regarding livestream shopping were the same, the wording of the
questionnaire items differed slightly for those who had used and those
who had not used livestream shopping. For example, those who had
never used it were asked, “Please assume you were to use livestream
shopping when answering the following questions,” “I would find live­
stream shopping preferable,” while those who had used it were asked,
“Please think of the times you have used livestream shopping when
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
Fig. 2a. Sample of livestream shopping in the United States.
answering the following questions,” “I find livestream shopping
preferable."
Trust in streamers was measured using the item, “To what extent do
you agree that online streamers are trustworthy? " Social presence was
adapted from Short et al. (1976) and Gefen and Straub (2004) by adding
sentiments toward the streamer and strangers. Utilitarian and hedonic
attitudes were adapted from Voss et al. (2003). Watch intention, pur­
chase intention, and recommendation intention were respectively
measured by, “I would watch shopping livestreams,” “I would use
livestream shopping to shop,” and “I would recommend livestream
shopping to others."
The above questionnaire items were used for Research Question 2
and can be seen in Appendix. The following questionnaire items were
used for Research Question 1. All questionnaire items were measured on
a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1, “Disagree strongly,” to 5, “Agree
strongly."
We measured questionnaire items related to the effects of livestream
shopping in four aspects: stimulating consumer purchasing, communi­
cation promotion, personal quality of life improvement, and societal
benefits. Stimulating consumer purchasing was measured using the
items (all terms in parentheses were included for non-users and excluded
for users), “I (might) end up buying things I did not originally intend to,”
“I (might) develop a strong desire to buy something,” and “I (might)
want to buy something impulsively.” Communication promotion was
measured using the items, “Livestream shopping encourages commu­
nication among viewers,” and “Livestream shopping encourages
communication between streamers and viewers.” The personal quality
6
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596
Fig. 2b. Sample of livestream shopping in China.
of life improvement was measured using the items, “Livestream shop­
ping makes (would make) my life more efficient,” “Livestream shopping
makes (would make) my life easier,” “Livestream shopping improves
(would improve) my quality of life,” and “Livestream shopping makes
(would make) my life happier.” Societal benefits were measured using
the items, “Livestream shopping is (would be) beneficial to the society”
and “Livestream shopping holds (would hold) promising prospects for
the future development of the society."
3.3. Data analysis
We used SPSS 29 for descriptive statistical analyses, t-tests for means,
and SmartPLS 4.0.9.5 software to validate the conceptual model. Two
verification stages were performed using Partial Least Squares Structural
Equation Modeling in SmartPLS to evaluate the measurements and
structural models (Hair et al., 2017). To identify differences in the
mechanisms influencing users’ attitudes or behaviors toward livestream
shopping in the United States and China, we used partial least squares
multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA). This method is a non-parametric sig­
nificance test for the difference of group-specific results that build on
partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) boot­
strapping results (Ringle et al., 2022). The structural model hypothesis
testing was calculated using 5000 resamples.
S. Ni and H. Ueichi Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596

and extremely few non-users of livestream shopping in China, in order to

produce robust and statistically significant results, data from the
following groups were analyzed: non-users of livestream shopping in
Japan (N = 572), non-users in the United States (N = 480), users in the
United States (N = 290), and users in China (N = 563). Descriptive
statistics for the demographic characteristics of the valid samples for the
three countries are included in Table 1. Users in the United States had
higher educations and incomes, were younger, and included a higher
percentage of married people than non-users in the United States.

4.2. Results of research question 1

The mean t-test results for stimulating consumer purchasing,

Fig. 2c. Sample of livestream shopping in Japan.
4. Results
4.1. Descriptive statistics
In this study, the usage rates of livestream shopping in the United
States, China, and Japan were 37.7%, 93.8%, and 4.7%, respectively.
Since there were extremely few users of livestream shopping in Japan
communication promotion, personal quality of life improvement, and
societal benefits between non-users in the United States and non-users in
Japan, between non-users and users in the United States, and between
users in the United States and users in China are shown in Tables 2a, 2b,
and 2c, respectively.
In terms of stimulating consumer purchasing and communication
promotion, the average score of non-users in Japan was below 3 (neither
agree nor disagree), while the average scores of non-users and users in
the United States and users in China were above 3. That is, overall, users
in China and both users and non-users in the United States have positive
opinions of livestream shopping with regard to stimulating consumer
shopping and communication promotion. However, in Japan, they
mainly have negative opinions. In addition, for these items, the average
score of Japanese non-users was nearly one point lower on a 5-point
scale, which is significantly lower, than that of American non-users.
Moreover, the scores of users in the United States were higher than
those of non-users in the United States, and no significant difference was
found between the scores of Chinese users and those of American users
for any item except promoting communication between viewers. Over­
all, in terms of stimulating consumer shopping and communication
promotion, there is little difference between users in the United States
and China, but non-users in the United States are noticeably more pos­
itive than non-users in Japan.
In terms of personal quality of life improvement and societal bene­
fits, the average scores of non-users in both Japan and the United States
were below 3, that is, negative opinions, while users in both the United
States and China had average scores above 3.5, that is, positive opinions,
and the difference between the average score of users and non-users in
the United States is up to 1 point. In other words, livestream shopping
not only promotes sales but also contributes to the individual user and
society. Moreover, users who did not use livestream shopping did not
have sufficient knowledge of these effects. In addition, Chinese users
scored higher than American users, and non-users in the United States

Table 1
Demographic characteristics of participants.
Demographic Characteristics Japan United States China

Non-users (N = 572) Non-users (N = 480) Users (N = 290) Users (N = 563)

Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD

Age (years) 40 11 39 12 36 9 38 10
Education (years) 15 2 14 3 16 3 15 3
Annual household income 65 32 78 52 112 58 212 86

n % n % n % n %

Gender
Male 288 50.3% 179 37.3% 138 47.6% 275 48.8%
Female 284 49.7% 301 62.7% 152 52.4% 288 51.2%
Marital Status
Married 222 38.8% 189 39.4% 208 71.7% 477 84.7%
Unmarried 350 61.2% 291 60.6% 82 28.3% 86 15.3%

Notes: Married includes living together as a married couple. For the units of annual household income, Japan, the United States, and China are 100,000 yen, 1000
dollars, and 100 yuan, respectively. The number of respondents with an annual household income is 465, 452, 287, and 563 for Japan, non-users of the United States,
users of the United States, and China, respectively.

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S. Ni and H. Ueichi Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596

Table 2a
Mean t-Test Results between Non-Users in the United States and Japan.
Category Item United States Japan United States - Japan

Non-Users (N = 480) Non-Users (N = 572) Difference of Mean

M SD M SD DIF t-value

Stimulating consumer purchasing Unplanned purchases 3.41 1.08 2.42 1.18 0.99 14.17 ***
Development of purchase desire 3.45 1.01 2.56 1.15 0.89 13.44 ***
Impulsive buying 3.51 1.06 2.45 1.18 1.06 15.28 ***

Communication promotion Viewer communication 3.24 0.97 2.40 1.04 0.85 13.71 ***
Streamer-viewer communication 3.33 1.01 2.57 1.12 0.76 11.49 ***

Personal quality of life improvement Make life more efficient 2.70 1.08 2.33 1.03 0.37 5.73 ***
Make life easier 2.68 1.09 2.30 1.03 0.38 5.81 ***
Improve quality of life 2.39 1.03 2.26 1.00 0.13 2.04 *
Make life happier 2.44 1.05 2.31 1.06 0.12 1.91

Society benefits Be beneficial to the society 2.72 1.04 2.63 1.00 0.09 1.51
Future societal development 2.75 1.02 2.87 1.02 − 0.12 − 1.93

Notes: DIF for difference value.

Table 2b
Mean t-Test Results between Non-Users and Users in the United States.
Category Item United States Non-Users - Users

Non-Users (N = 480) Users (N = 290) Difference of Mean

M SD M SD DIF t-value

Stimulating consumer purchasing Unplanned purchases 3.41 1.08 3.68 1.02 − 0.26 − 3.32 ***
Development of purchase desire 3.45 1.01 3.99 0.83 − 0.54 − 8.03 ***
Impulsive buying 3.51 1.06 3.88 0.98 − 0.37 − 4.97 ***

Communication promotion Viewer communication 3.24 0.97 3.84 0.88 − 0.59 − 8.75 ***
Streamer-viewer communication 3.33 1.01 4.03 0.80 − 0.71 − 10.76 ***

Personal quality of life improvement Make life more efficient 2.70 1.08 3.68 0.98 − 0.98 − 12.90 ***
Make life easier 2.68 1.09 3.94 0.95 − 1.27 − 16.98 ***
Improve quality of life 2.39 1.03 3.70 1.01 − 1.31 − 17.24 ***
Make life happier 2.44 1.05 3.69 0.96 − 1.25 − 16.93 ***

Society benefits Be beneficial to the society 2.72 1.04 3.76 0.99 − 1.03 − 13.61 ***
Future societal development 2.75 1.02 3.88 0.90 − 1.13 − 15.97 ***

Notes: DIF for difference value.

Table 2c
Mean t-Test Results between Users in the United States and China.
Category Item United States China United States - China

Users (N＝290) Users (N＝563) Difference of Mean

M SD M SD DIF t-value

Stimulating consumer purchasing Unplanned purchases 3.68 1.02 3.71 0.89 − 0.04 − 0.54
Development of purchase desire 3.99 0.83 4.04 0.97 − 0.05 − 0.80
Impulsive buying 3.88 0.98 3.78 1.01 0.10 1.38

Communication promotion Viewer communication 3.84 0.88 4.08 0.80 − 0.25 − 4.09 ***
Streamer-viewer communication 4.03 0.80 4.09 0.74 − 0.06 − 1.15

Personal quality of life improvement Make life more efficient 3.68 0.98 4.12 0.75 − 0.44 − 6.66 ***
Make life easier 3.94 0.95 4.12 0.85 − 0.18 − 2.75 **
Improve quality of life 3.70 1.01 4.08 0.86 − 0.38 − 5.52 ***
Make life happier 3.69 0.96 4.09 0.71 − 0.40 − 6.24 ***

Society benefits Be beneficial to the society 3.76 0.99 3.92 0.86 − 0.16 − 2.36 *
Future societal development 3.88 0.90 4.26 0.71 − 0.38 − 6.28 ***

Notes: DIF for difference value.

scored higher than non-users in Japan (except for increasing happiness
and benefitting society). In other words, in terms of the perception that
livestream shopping improves individuals’ quality of life and benefits
society, users in China is more positive than users in the United States,
and non-users in the United States is more positive than non-users in
Japan.
4.3. Results of research question 2
4.3.1. Evaluation of the measurement model
Since the number of livestream shopping users in Japan was only 28,
which does not yield robust and statistically significant results, the data
from Japan was not included for Research Question 2. Internal consis­
tency (Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability), convergent validity
(loadings and mean variance extracted), and discriminant validity were

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S. Ni and H. Ueichi Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596

used to validate the measurement model (Hair et al., 2017). The eval­
uation results of the model are presented in Tables 3 and 4. Cronbach’s
alpha is sensitive to the quantity of items within a scale and tends to
underestimate internal consistency reliability. Consequently, Hair et al.
(2017) argue that composite reliability (CR) is a more suitable mea­
surement method and suggest a CR value above 0.70 as an acceptable
standard for internal consistency reliability. In this study, the Cron­
bach’s alpha of all variables was above 0.70, and the CR was above 0.80
in both the United States and China. This indicates that all variables
have internal consistency reliability. Convergent validity was verified by
examining the factor item loadings, recommended to be above 0.70, and
the average variance extracted (AVE), recommended to be above 0.5
(Hair et al., 2017). However, weak factor loadings (below 0.70) are
frequently obtained in social science research, especially when using
newly developed scales (Hulland, 1999). All items were above 0.70
except for a few, which were between 0.67 and 0.70, so the overall re­
sults were acceptable. AVE values of all variables were above 0.50.
Hence, all measurements are well represented by their respective vari­
ables. The Fornell-Larcker criterion was utilized to confirm discriminant
validity (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). The Fornell-Larcker calculation
results clarified that the square root of the AVE between each pair of
factors was higher than the correlation estimated between constructs,
indicating that discriminant validity could be accepted (Fornell and
Larcker, 1981). In this study, all the square roots of the average variance
extracted (AVEs) are higher than the off-diagonal correlations between
constructs, indicating adequate discriminant validity.
4.3.2. Evaluation of the structural model
The Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) is a metric
used to evaluate the goodness of fit of a model, and a value less than 0.08
is generally considered a good fit (Hair et al., 2017). In this study, the
SRMR for the United States was 0.065 and the SRMR for China was
0.061. Thus, the models are both good fits. The variance inflation factor
(VIF), which is used to evaluate collinearity, should be below 5 (Hair
et al., 2017). In this study, all VIF values were below 5. The R2 of the
endogenous variables is shown in Table 5. The R2 of all variables was
greater than 0.40, and some even reach above 0.60. Overall, this
structural model in both the United States and China is good. Fig. 3
shows the main results generated by the structural model, and Table 6
shows the detailed results.
In the United States, the factor with the strongest effect on social
presence was trust in streamers (β = 0.37, p < .001), followed by
interpersonal orientation (β = 0.27, p < .001) and extraversion (β =
0.23, p < .001); no significant effect of trust in general people online on
social presence was found. In China, the factor with the strongest effect
on social presence was interpersonal orientation (β = 0.37, p < .001),
followed by trust in streamers (β = 0.31, p < .001), and then trust in
general people online (β = 0.14, p < .05); no significant effect of ex­
traversion was found. Although the strength of each factor for social
presence differs slightly between the United States and China, there is no
significant difference.
In the United States, the factor with the strongest effect on utilitarian
attitude was social presence (β = 0.45, p < .001), followed by antici­
pated regret (β = 0.16, p < .01), change seeking (β = 0.15, p < .01), and
trust in general people online (β = 0.12, p < .05); no significant effect of

Table 3
Construct reliability and validity for measurement models.
Variables Items United States (N = 290) China (N = 563)

Convergent validity Internal consistency reliability Convergent validity Internal consistency reliability

Loadings AVE Cronbach’s alpha CR Loadings AVE Cronbach’s alpha CR

Trust in general people online TG01 0.882 0.797 0.915 0.940 0.859 0.646 0.818 0.879
TG02 0.899 0.781
TG03 0.914 0.811
TG04 0.875 0.760
Change seeking CS01 0.788 0.587 0.765 0.850 0.810 0.615 0.791 0.864
CS02 0.743 0.753
CS03 0.785 0.741
CS04 0.746 0.828
Anticipated regret AR01 0.853 0.742 0.884 0.920 0.813 0.724 0.873 0.913
AR02 0.855 0.848
AR03 0.845 0.866
AR04 0.892 0.874
Interpersonal orientation IO01 0.772 0.583 0.856 0.893 0.754 0.584 0.857 0.893
IO02 0.771 0.760
IO03 0.668 0.737
IO04 0.744 0.710
IO05 0.819 0.786
IO06 0.798 0.831
Extraversion Ex01 0.854 0.626 0.850 0.893 0.825 0.572 0.813 0.869
Ex02 0.765 0.688
Ex03 0.803 0.763
Ex04 0.831 0.760
Ex05 0.696 0.739
Social presence SP01 0.830 0.609 0.871 0.903 0.784 0.579 0.854 0.892
SP02 0.754 0.765
SP03 0.786 0.775
SP04 0.799 0.758
SP05 0.721 0.793
SP06 0.787 0.687
Utilitarian attitude UA01 0.850 0.691 0.851 0.899 0.797 0.584 0.762 0.848
UA02 0.837 0.809
UA03 0.799 0.678
UA04 0.838 0.767
Hedonic attitude HA01 0.811 0.719 0.804 0.885 0.788 0.642 0.722 0.843
HA02 0.857 0.823
HA03 0.875 0.792

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S. Ni and H. Ueichi Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596

Table 4
Discriminant validity for measurement models.
United States (N ¼ 290)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. Trust in general people online 0.893

2. Change seeking 0.324 0.766
3. Anticipated regret 0.443 0.271 0.861
4. Interpersonal orientation 0.479 0.514 0.452 0.763
5. Extraversion 0.427 0.581 0.315 0.686 0.791
6. Social presence 0.550 0.539 0.540 0.654 0.629 0.780
7. Utilitarian attitude 0.559 0.521 0.549 0.636 0.610 0.760 0.831
8. Hedonic attitude 0.463 0.496 0.512 0.569 0.538 0.741 0.795 0.848

China (N ¼ 563)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. Trust in general people online 0.804

2. Change seeking 0.420 0.784
3. Anticipated regret 0.282 0.255 0.851
4. Interpersonal orientation 0.522 0.693 0.388 0.764
5. Extraversion 0.485 0.535 0.219 0.684 0.756
6. Social presence 0.550 0.519 0.322 0.653 0.551 0.761
7. Utilitarian attitude 0.392 0.434 0.266 0.496 0.487 0.658 0.764
8. Hedonic attitude 0.366 0.402 0.290 0.529 0.441 0.686 0.631 0.801

Notes: For the Fornell-Larcker criterion, the bold numbers on the diagonal are the square roots of the average variance extracted (AVEs). The off-diagonal elements are
correlations between constructs.

Moreover, for the United States, the effect of trust in general people
Table 5
online on utilitarian attitude was significantly stronger than it was for
R2 for endogenous variables.
China (p < .01), while the effect of trust in streamers on utilitarian
United States (N = 290) China (N = 563) attitude was significantly stronger for China than for the United States
Social presence 0.62 0.55 (p < .05).
Utilitarian attitude 0.65 0.49 In the United States, the strongest effect on hedonic attitude was
Hedonic attitude 0.58 0.49 social presence (β = 0.57, p < .001), followed by anticipated regret (β =
Watch intention 0.43 0.42
Purchase intention 0.52 0.47
0.15, p < .01), and change seeking (β = 0.14, p < .05); no significant
Recommendation intention 0.64 0.49 effects of trust in general people online and trust in streamers on hedonic
attitude were found. In China, the strongest effect on hedonic attitude
was also social presence (β = 0.59, p < .001), followed by trust in
trust in streamers on utilitarian attitude was found. In China, the factor streamers (β = 0.15, p < .01), and anticipated regret (β = 0.07, p < .05);
with the strongest effect on utilitarian attitude was also social presence no significant effects of change seeking and trust in general people on­
(β = 0.46, p < .001), followed by trust in streamers (β = 0.29, p < .001), line were found. Moreover, for China, the effect of trust in streamers on
then change seeking (β = 0.10, p < .05); no significant effects of hedonic attitude was significantly stronger than it was for the United
anticipated regret and trust in general people online were found.

Fig. 3. Model results.

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S. Ni and H. Ueichi Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596

Table 6
Hypothesis testing.
Path United States (N = 290) Chin (N = 563) United States-China

β t-value β t-value Difference Value

Independent variable → Social presence

Trust in general people online 0.084 1.63 0.136 2.04 * − 0.052
Trust in streamers 0.373 5.87 *** 0.309 5.61 *** 0.064
Interpersonal orientation 0.271 3.47 *** 0.371 6.43 *** − 0.100
Extraversion 0.234 3.33 *** 0.077 1.47 0.157
Independent variable → Utilitarian attitude
Trust in general people online 0.118 2.22 * − 0.089 1.88 0.207 **
Trust in streamers 0.119 1.89 0.293 6.01 *** − 0.174 *
Change seeking 0.145 2.98 ** 0.102 2.14 * 0.042
Anticipated regret 0.160 3.10 ** 0.043 1.31 0.117
Social Presence 0.451 6.39 *** 0.459 8.41 *** − 0.008
Independent variable → Hedonic attitude
Trust in general people online 0.047 0.90 − 0.091 1.89 0.138
Trust in streamers − 0.011 0.18 0.148 3.28 ** − 0.159 *
Change seeking 0.139 2.56 * 0.054 1.22 0.086
Anticipated regret 0.153 2.76 ** 0.074 2.11 * 0.080
Social presence 0.565 8.40 *** 0.593 11.91 *** − 0.029
Independent variable → Watch intention
Social presence 0.398 4.93 *** − 0.106 1.96 0.504 ***
Utilitarian attitude 0.136 1.49 0.494 9.88 *** − 0.357 ***
Hedonic attitude 0.201 2.52 * 0.275 5.63 *** − 0.075
Age 0.054 1.13 − 0.100 2.14 * 0.154 *
Gender 0.004 0.05 0.158 2.28 * − 0.153
Marital status 0.304 2.34 * 0.088 0.80 0.215
Education 0.111 2.09 * 0.012 0.26 0.099
Independent variable → Purchase intention
Social presence 0.016 0.21 0.169 3.45 *** − 0.153
Utilitarian attitude − 0.050 0.60 0.285 6.47 *** − 0.335 ***
Hedonic attitude 0.535 7.07 *** 0.328 6.44 *** 0.207 *
Watch intention 0.280 4.65 *** − 0.025 0.58 0.304 ***
Age 0.098 2.32 * − 0.004 0.10 0.102
Independent variable → Recommendation intention
Social presence 0.082 1.31 0.179 3.38 *** − 0.097
Utilitarian attitude 0.405 5.63 *** 0.111 2.03 * 0.294 **
Hedonic attitude 0.001 0.01 0.018 0.36 − 0.017
Watch intention 0.217 4.06 *** 0.315 7.33 *** − 0.098
Purchase intention 0.233 4.17 *** 0.220 5.08 *** 0.013
Education 0.058 1.11 0.104 2.66 ** − 0.046

Notes: β for standardized path coefficients. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001. Only the variables associated with the hypothesis and the control variables that were found
to be significant are shown in this table. Gender: male = 0, female = 1; Marital Status: married = 0, unmarried = 1.

States (p < .05).
In the United States, the strongest effect on watch intention was
social presence (β = 0.40, p < .001), followed by hedonic attitude (β =
0.20, p < .05); no significant effect of utilitarian attitude on watch
intention was found. In China, the strongest effect on watch intention
was utilitarian attitude (β = 0.49, p < .001), followed by hedonic atti­
tude (β = 0.28, p < .001); no significant effect of social presence was
found. Moreover, for the United States, the effect of social presence on
watch intention was significantly stronger than it was for China (p <
.001), while for China, the effect of utilitarian attitude on watch inten­
tion was significantly stronger than it was for the United States (p <
.001).
In the United States, the strongest effect on purchase intention was
hedonic attitude (β = 0.54, p < .001), followed by watch intention (β =
0.28, p < .001); no significant effects of social presence and utilitarian
attitude on purchase intention were found. In China, the strongest effect
on purchase intention was hedonic attitude (β = 0.33, p < .001), fol­
lowed by utilitarian attitude (β = 0.29, p < .001), and social presence (β
= 0.17, p < .001); no significant effect of watch intention was found.
Moreover, for China, the effect of utilitarian attitude on purchase
intention was significantly stronger than it was for the United States (p
< .001), while for the United States, the effects of hedonic attitude (p <
.05) and watch intention (p < .001) on purchase intention were signif­
icantly stronger than they were for China.
In the United States, the strongest effect on recommendation inten­
tion was utilitarian attitude (β = 0.41, p < .001), followed by purchase
intention (β = 0.23, p < .001), and watch intention (β = 0.22, p < .001);
no significant effects of social presence and hedonic attitude on
recommendation intention were found. In China, the strongest effect on
recommendation intention was watch intention (β = 0.32, p < .001),
followed by purchase intention (β = 0.22, p < .001), social presence (β
= 0.18, p < .001), and utilitarian attitude (β = 0.11, p < .05); no sig­
nificant effect of hedonic attitude was found. Moreover, for the United
States, the effect of utilitarian attitude on recommendation intention
was significantly stronger than it was for China (p < .01).
5. General discussion and conclusions
The usage rate of livestream shopping varies from country to coun­
try, with China having the highest rate at over 90%, the United States
having the middle rate at approximately 40%, and Japan having the
lowest rate at less than 5%. Although China and Japan are geographi­
cally close compared to the United States, there is a notable difference in
their respective usage rates for livestream shopping.
Regarding Research Question 1, we examined livestream shopping in
terms of stimulation of consumer purchasing, communication promo­
tion, personal quality of life improvement, and societal benefits, and
found that for users in both China and the United States, in general,
livestream shopping not only stimulates user purchasing, but also
stimulates user beliefs that livestream shopping promotes communica­
tion between streamers and users and between users themselves. In
addition, it stimulates the belief that livestream shopping can improve

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users’ personal quality of life and contribute to society. On the other Table 7
hand, although non-users in the United States are inclined to be positive Hypotheses results.
toward stimulating consumer purchases and communication promotion, Hypothesis United States China
they are still inclined to be negative toward personal quality of life
H1a Change seeking positively influences Supported Supported
improvement and societal benefits. Japanese non-users, however, are utilitarian attitudes toward livestream
generally negative toward all four aspects. These results suggest that shopping.
livestream shopping is not only generally useful for promoting con­ H1b Change seeking positively influences Supported Not
sumption but can also bring benefits to individual users and society; hedonic attitudes toward livestream Supported
shopping.
however, those who have not used it may not understand its benefits due H2a Anticipated regret positively influences Supported Not
to a lack of direct experience or to insufficient information about live­ utilitarian attitudes toward livestream Supported
stream shopping. Therefore, to promote the widespread adoption of shopping.
livestream shopping, it is necessary for companies and policy makers in H2b Anticipated regret positively influences Supported Supported
hedonic attitudes toward livestream
relevant areas to raise the awareness of non-users regarding livestream
shopping.
shopping. In addition, users in China have significantly more positive H3 Interpersonal orientation positively Supported Supported
perceptions than users in the United States regarding personal quality of influences social presence.
life improvement and societal benefits, which is probably one of the H4 Extraversion positively influences social Supported Not
reasons why livestream shopping has rapidly gained popularity in the presence. Supported
H5a Trust in general people online positively Not Supported
Chinese market. Overall, livestream shopping is a complex but attractive influences social presence. Supported
field with great economic potential and social impact. A deeper under­ H5b Trust in general people online positively Supported Not
standing of its influencing factors or mechanisms can create greater influences utilitarian attitudes toward Supported
value for businesses, consumers, and even society. livestream shopping.
H5c Trust in general people online positively Not Not
Regarding Research Question 2, the results of the hypothesis testing
influences hedonic attitudes toward Supported Supported
are summarized in Table 7. While there were both commonalities and livestream shopping.
differences between the American and Chinese results, most of the hy­ H6a Trust in streamers positively influences Supported Supported
potheses were supported. In the United States, both personal charac­ social presence.
teristics of change seeking and anticipated regret positively influenced H6b Trust in streamers positively influences Not Supported
utilitarian attitudes toward livestream Supported
utilitarian and hedonic attitudes toward livestream shopping. In China,
shopping.
change seeking only influenced utilitarian attitudes toward livestream H6c Trust in streamers positively influences Not Supported
shopping, while anticipated regret only influenced hedonic attitudes. In hedonic attitudes toward livestream Supported
both countries, interpersonal orientation positively influenced social shopping.
H7a Social presence positively influences Supported Supported
presence. However, in the United States, extraversion also positively
utilitarian attitudes toward livestream
influenced social presence. Meanwhile, social presence, utilitarian atti­ shopping.
tudes and hedonic attitudes all influenced behavioral intentions. H7b Social presence positively influences Supported Supported
The factor with the strongest effect on both utilitarian and hedonic hedonic attitudes toward livestream
attitudes was social presence, both in the United States and China. This shopping.
H7c Social presence positively influences Partially Partially
study shows the importance of social presence on attitudes toward
behavioral intentions toward livestream Supported Supported
livestream shopping. Companies and policymakers need to consider shopping.
increasing consumers’ perceived social presence to improve their atti­ H8a Utilitarian attitudes toward livestream Partially Supported
tudes toward livestream shopping. shopping positively influence behavioral Supported
intentions.
In the United States, the strongest factor influencing social presence
H8b Hedonic attitudes toward livestream Partially Partially
was trust in streamers, followed by interpersonal orientation, while in shopping positively influence behavioral Supported Supported
China, interpersonal orientation influenced social presence more than intentions.
trust in streamers. The Chinese word for interpersonal relationship is
Guanxi, but it has a deeper meaning than its simple English counter­
parts, such as “relationship” or “connection” (Lin, 2001). Many studies contexts.
have already shown that Chinese people value Guanxi and that Guanxi In the United States, both anticipated regret and change seeking are
permeates Chinese society (Chen and Chen, 2004; Fei, 1998; Lin, 2001; important factors influencing utilitarian and hedonic attitudes toward
Ni, 2021). In the 1990s, as international trade with China grew, people livestream shopping, just behind social presence, but in China, only
from other countries recognized that doing business in China was change seeking influences utilitarian attitude, and only anticipated
particularly difficult. This is because the way business is done in China regret influences hedonic attitude, behind social presence and trust in
differs greatly from that in Europe and the United States. In China, streamers. According to the Chinese law for the Protection of Consumer
personal relationships are relatively important, while in Europe and the Rights and Interests, consumers have the right to return products pur­
United States, the regulation and enforcement of contracts is more chased through online shopping, television shopping, telephone shop­
important. Since then, researchers in the marketing field have begun to ping, and postal shopping within seven days (starting from the day they
focus on the concept of Guanxi (e.g. Davies et al., 1995; Tomás Gómez receive the product) without providing any reason (English.beijing.gov.
Arias, 1998). The results of this study also emphasize the influence of cn, 2023; Wang, 2016). On the other hand, there are no corresponding
Guanxi in China. Furthermore, in the United States, extraversion in­ laws and regulations in the United States. In addition, online shopping in
fluences social presence, but no significant effect of trust in general China is free or low-cost postage, and return shipping insurance is
people online on social presence was found, while in China, the opposite available in case of a return. The return shipping insurance fee is very
was true. However, the strength of the association of each factor with low, and some retailers offer return shipping insurance for free (see Li
social presence, while somewhat dissimilar, was not significantly et al. (2023) for more information on return shipping insurance in
different between the United States and China. In general, interpersonal China). The seven-day unconditional return policy and return shipping
orientation and trust in streamers are important factors influencing so­ insurance may explain why anticipated regret does not influence utili­
cial presence in both the United States and China; meanwhile, social tarian attitude in China. However, if a return does occur, even if there is
presence is culturally influenced, and the primary and secondary factors no monetary loss, there will be mental discomfort, so in China, antici­
influencing social presence are slightly different in different cultural pated regret still influences hedonic attitude. Livestream shopping helps

12
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
consumers avoid purchasing unsatisfactory goods, helping to reduce
consumers’ shopping regrets and increase their satisfaction.
In China, livestream shopping began to grow rapidly in 2016 and
2017 after Taobao, one of China’s largest e-commerce platforms, opened
its livestream function in 2016. As the results of this study show, more
than 90% of Chinese have watched livestream shopping in China’s
major cities. For Chinese consumers, livestream shopping has been a
common way of shopping, and they have seen various streamers’ styles
of introducing products. Chinese users are familiar with livestream
shopping, which may be why the effect of change seeking on hedonic
attitude is not found in China. However, Chinese users can still be
informed of the latest products and fulfill their functional needs through
livestream shopping, so change seeking still influences utilitarian atti­
tude. Regarding change seeking, Song et al. (2022) showed that driving
pleasure and innovation have a significantly higher effect on usage
satisfaction of electric vehicles in the United States than in China.
Consumers in the United States may enjoy the stimulation or innovation
gained via consumption more than those in China.
The two forms of online trust, trust in general people online and trust
in streamers, differ significantly between the United States and China
with regard to their effect on attitudes toward livestream shopping. In
China, trust in streamers is the second most influential factor affecting
utilitarian and hedonic attitudes after social presence. In contrast, in the
United States, trust in streamers has no significant effect on utilitarian or
hedonic attitudes. The effect of trust in general people online on utili­
tarian attitude is significantly stronger in the United States than in
China. In contrast, the effects of trust in streamers on utilitarian and
hedonic attitudes are significantly stronger in China than in the United
States. Wongkitrungrueng and Assarut (2020) showed that in Thailand,
a country with a collectivist culture, trust in streamers promotes con­
sumer engagement in livestream shopping, while Joo and Yang (2023)
showed that in the United States, the effect of trust in streamers on
livestream shopping intentions is not found. In collectivist cultures,
people emphasize concern for others, fitting in, and harmonious inter­
dependence with others (Markus and Kitayama, 1991), and tend to
listen to and care about the opinions of others, which may be the reason
why China has a higher effect of trust in streamers on attitudes than the
United States. These differences reflect the influence of culture on the
association between trust and consumer behavior. These results suggest
that companies need to understand the association between trust
mechanisms and consumer behavior in different cultural contexts.
In the United States, no significant effect of utilitarian attitude on
either watch or purchase intention was found. In contrast, in China, both
watch intention and purchase intention were influenced by utilitarian
attitude, and the association between them was significantly stronger in
China than in the United States. Specifically, both in watching intention
and purchasing intention, Chinese people value whether livestream
shopping can satisfy their needs in terms of functionality and usefulness.
Ertz et al. (2022) produced similar results to our study: the effect of
perceived usefulness on behavioral intentions for mobile shopping were
stronger for Chinese consumers than for American consumers. The re­
sults of both Ertz et al. (2022) and this study reflect the pragmatic
orientation of Chinese culture (Hofstede et al., 2010; Hofstede Insights
2023), revealing that Chinese consumers value the utility of goods or
services.
On the other hand, this study shows that the influence of hedonic
attitude on purchase intention is significantly stronger in the United
States than in China. Shobeiri et al. (2018) produced similar results to
13
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596
those in our study: experiential value has a stronger influence on website
involvement and customer patronage intention for North Americans
than for Chinese. These results all reflect the indulgence culture in the
United States and the tendency to pursue fun and entertainment (Hof­
stede et al., 2010; Hofstede Insights 2023). However, it is important to
note that it is not that Chinese consumers do not value shopping for
entertainment, but rather that their tendency to do so is not as strong as
that of Americans. The results of this study show that in China, the factor
with the strongest influence on purchase intention is hedonic attitude,
followed by utilitarian attitudes. Whether it is the United States or
China, the strongest influence of purchase intention is hedonic attitude,
so for companies to increase consumer purchase intention, they need to
focus on appealing to the hedonic attitudes of consumers toward live­
stream shopping.
Moreover, this study has shown that a utilitarian attitude is stronger
than a hedonic attitude in terms of their effects on watch intention,
while a hedonic attitude is stronger than a utilitarian attitude for its
effect on purchase intention in China. Previous studies have provided
similar results. For example, Guo et al. (2022) examined the associations
of perceived utilitarian value and hedonic value on watch intention and
purchase intention of livestream shopping in China, and the results
showed that perceived utilitarian value has a stronger effect on watch
intention than perceived hedonic value, while perceived hedonic value
has a stronger effect on purchase intention than perceived utilitarian
value. These results imply that Chinese users pay more attention to
products (Guo et al., 2022) and useful information when watching
livestream shopping.
In the United States, social presence influences watch intention, but a
significant effect of social presence on purchase intention was not found.
In China, it was the opposite: social presence influences purchase
intention, whereas a significant effect of social presence on watch
intention was not found. Wheeler et al. (1989) showed that individu­
alistic American students interacted more frequently and with more
people than Hong Kong students in a collectivist culture. Previous
research has also shown that people from countries with collectivist
cultures are more interdependent and their attitudes are more strongly
based on others’ expectations, whereas people from countries with
individualist cultures are more independent and their attitudes are more
strongly based on their own preferences (Markus and Kitayama, 1991;
Oyserman et al., 2002). Similarly, the results of this study imply that,
with regard to watching livestream shopping in the United States, users
are influenced by the feeling of being connected to more people and
being able to communicate with more people while livestream shopping,
but when it comes to purchasing, they are not influenced by others and
follow their own preferences more often. On the other hand, Chinese
users are more inclined to watch livestream shopping to fulfill their
utilitarian needs, but when it comes to purchasing, the influence of
others takes effect: a stronger feeling of social presence leads to a
stronger the intention to purchase, based on the influence of streamers
or other consumers.
In both the United States and China, a hedonic attitude is an
important, influential factor for purchase intention, but for recommen­
dation intention, an effect of hedonic attitude was not found; instead, a
utilitarian attitude plays an important role. Moreover, in the United
States, the effect of a utilitarian attitude on recommendation intention is
stronger than that on watch intention and purchase intention. The effect
of a utilitarian attitude on recommendation intention is also signifi­
cantly higher in the United States than in China. These results imply that
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
when recommending a product to others, more consideration is given to
the functionality and effectiveness of the product or service than to one’s
personal preferences and emotions, especially in the United States.
Although the effect of a utilitarian attitude on watch intention is
stronger in China than in the United States, the effect of a utilitarian
attitude on recommendation intention is stronger in the United States
than in China. The reason for this relates to watch intentions, which are
only about the users themselves, and recommendation intentions, which
involve others. Lam et al. (2009) examined the spread of word-of-mouth
promotion in in-groups (close friends or family) and out-groups
(strangers or people in general) and found that the more consumers
valued individualism, the more they tended to spread positive opinions
to out-groups rather than to their in-group. Furthermore, highly indi­
vidualistic Americans “are more willing to process information based on
traits, whether making attributions about people, information, or social
obligation” (Oyserman et al., 2002, p. 43). Based on these previous
studies, American consumers may be more willing to share their per­
sonal opinions and experiences with general people through public
platforms (e.g., social media) than Chinese consumers are. In addition,
when making recommendations to others, they are more likely to
consider the traits of the products or services themselves, for example,
the product or service’s functionality and effectiveness. However, in the
context of a collectivist culture, Chinese consumers may be more likely
to share with people they know in a private, established community and
consider other elements related to others in addition to the functionality
of products or services when making a recommendation. This claim is
supported by the results of our study: social presence has a positive ef­
fect on recommendation intention in China. The consumer-to-consumer
recommendation is very important in the promotion of livestream
shopping, and in the American market, it is important to focus on the
formation of consumers’ utilitarian attitudes, while in the Chinese
market, in addition to utilitarian attitudes, the perception of social
presence also needs attention.
5.1. Theory contribution
This study provides three important insights into livestream shop­
ping. First, as mentioned in the Introduction, although scholars have
studied livestream shopping from several perspectives, there is still a gap
in research from the perspective of consumers’ personal characteristics.
Here, we have revealed for the first time that personal characteristics
such as change seeking, anticipated regret, interpersonal orientation,
and extraversion play a role in livestream shopping, which provides new
perspectives and enriches existing theoretical frameworks for under­
standing consumer behavior during livestream shopping. Second, as
noted in the Introduction, no inter-country comparative studies have
been conducted on livestream shopping. By comparing Chinese and
American users of livestream shopping, this study reveals how cultural
context profoundly affects the association between interpersonal
orientation and social presence, as well as the relationship between
change seeking and anticipated regret with utilitarian and hedonic at­
titudes. Notably, social presence, utilitarian attitudes, and hedonic at­
titudes showed marked differences in roles in the behavioral intentions
of Chinese and American users. These findings further emphasize the
importance of cultural factors in consumer behavior research. Third,
although prior literature has highlighted the important role of social
14
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596
presence in livestream shopping (Chen and Liao, 2022; Ma, 2021; Sun
et al., 2019; Zheng et al., 2023), this study explores the concept in more
depth, expands on it, and carries it through to the methodology to make
it more relevant to the context of livestream shopping. By examining the
relationship between social presence and attitudes and behavioral in­
tentions toward livestream shopping, this study provides new perspec­
tives and explanations for understanding the influence of social presence
in livestream shopping. Overall, this study examines the mechanisms
influencing behavioral intentions in livestream shopping from the per­
spectives of personal characteristics, trust, and cultural differences, and
through this examination, extends the perspective of social presence to
the context of livestream shopping. This study provides a powerful
addition to the current marketing research in the context of livestream
shopping and makes an important contribution to the theoretical system
of consumer behavior.
5.2. Managerial implications
This study found that change seeking and anticipated regret influ­
enced consumers’ livestream shopping attitudes differently in different
cultural contexts. Consumers’ livestream shopping utilitarian attitudes
and hedonic attitudes in the United States are both affected by change
seeking and anticipated regret. In contrast, in China, these two charac­
teristics influence different types of respective attitudes. Considering the
influence of change seeking and anticipated regret in different countries,
companies should segment consumers according to the cultural char­
acteristics of a particular market and apply targeted strategies. Partic­
ularly in the American market, companies should target marketing
campaigns at consumers with a high propensity for change seeking and
anticipated regret to attract their interest in livestream shopping.
China is significantly higher than the United States regarding the
effect of trust in streamers on utilitarian attitudes and hedonic attitudes.
In China, streamers may be more than just salespeople. For Chinese
consumers, previous studies on livestream shopping have shown that
emotional attachment to streamers is an impact factor in consumer
engagement (Dang-Van et al., 2023), and the appeal of streamers is a
factor affecting the extent to which consumers immerse themselves in
livestream shopping (Zheng et al., 2023). Considering the importance of
trust in streamers in China, companies should consider not only their
ability to sell, but also their emotional connection with viewers when
choosing a streamer. In addition, ongoing training for streamers to
ensure they can better fulfill consumers’ emotional and informational
needs is crucial. Meanwhile, companies should strive to build and
maintain this trust, such as through transparent pricing strategies,
high-quality products and good after-sales services to increase consumer
trust in streamers.
Social presence is the strongest factor influencing utilitarian and
hedonic attitudes in both the United States and China, and, in the United
States, social presence influenced livestream shopping watch intentions,
whereas in China, social presence influenced purchase intentions and
recommendation intentions. Given the critical role of social presence in
influencing attitudes and behavioral intentions toward livestream
shopping, companies and policymakers need to consider improving
consumers’ perceived social presence in livestream shopping. Com­
panies can enhance the social elements of live streaming platforms. For
example, in addition to established interactive features (e.g.,
S. Ni and H. Ueichi
commenting, liking, sharing), they can add real-time polls, provide Q&A
sessions, organize mini-games, allow viewers to use their microphones
and join the live directly, encourage viewers to share their own photos,
videos, or stories related to the goods or services, allow viewers to
recommend or propose content or topics for the next livestream shop­
ping, and prepare lucky draw prizes to get viewers more involved in the
livestream shopping to enhance the interaction and sense of community
among viewers.
The results of the association of social presence and attitudes with
various behavioral intentions suggest that companies should use
different strategies at different stages of livestream shopping; moreover,
each strategy’s focus should differ based on the culture. In the American
market, when the number of viewers is relatively low, the strategy
should focus on forming a social presence. For example, companies
should create more interactivity and a sense of community in livestream
shopping, perhaps through online discussions or sharing personal ex­
periences, to enhance the interaction and intimacy between users and
streamers or between users themselves. While in the Chinese market, the
focus should be on engaging utilitarian attitudes, for example, intro­
ducing the functionality of the products and providing knowledge-based
information such as practical shopping advice. After reaching a certain
number of users, in the American market, the strategy should shift to
focus on engaging hedonic attitudes, for example, focusing on the
fulfillment of consumers’ entertainment needs (e.g., providing inter­
esting product demonstrations or a talk-show style of live streaming). In
the Chinese market, however, in addition to engaging hedonic attitudes,
it is also necessary to focus on engaging utilitarian attitudes and social
presence to attract consumers and motivate them to make purchases.
6. Limitations and future research directions
This study has several limitations. First, only the number of users and
non-users in the United States was sufficient for a comparative analysis.
To gain a deeper understanding of the differences between users and
non-users in different countries, future studies should collect more data
on Japanese users and Chinese non-users. Second, when we analyzed
users’ and non-users’ perceptions of livestream shopping, we only
considered four aspects: consumer purchasing stimulation, communi­
cation promotion, personal quality of life improvement, and societal
benefits. Future research should examine the differences between users’
and non-users’ perspectives from more aspects to better understand the
reasons for non-users’ behavior of not using livestream shopping. Third,
in this study regarding recommending products to others, we did not
make a clear distinction of whether “others” were in-group (friends and
family) or out-group (strangers or people in general). Due to the dif­
ferences between the American and Chinese cultures, perceptions of
“others” may differ. To better understand the mechanisms behind the
differences in the factors influencing recommendation intentions be­
tween the United States and China, future research needs to clarify the
division of “others” into in-groups and out-groups. Fourth, the measures
of trust in streamers, watch intention, purchase intention, and recom­
mendation intention in this study were all evaluated using only a single
survey item each. Future studies should consider more comprehensive
measurements using multiple items. Fifth, regarding the influence of
15
Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596
personal traits on social presence and attitudes, this study only consid­
ered interpersonal relationships and extraversion, and change seeking
and anticipated regret, respectively. Future research should consider
more individual trait factors. Finally, the low usage of livestream
shopping in Japan may be related to its culture’s high uncertainty
avoidance index (Hofstede et al., 2010; Hofstede Insights, 2023) and its
well-developed brick-and-mortar retail market. Uncertainty avoidance
refers to the extent to which the members of a culture feel threatened by
ambiguous or unknown situations (Hofstede et al., 2010). Customers
from cultures with a higher uncertainty avoidance index are more
cautious about new products and technologies, whereas those from
lower-index cultures frequently use the internet to compare service
providers (Hofstede et al., 2010). Furthermore, Japan has a very mature
brick-and-mortar retail market, ranging from large department stores
and supermarket chains to 24-h convenience stores located everywhere,
providing consumers with a wide range of choices and convenience,
making the need for livestream shopping relatively low. In addition,
Japan’s aging population may be a factor in their lower usage rate. To
explore the specific reasons why Japan’s use of livestream shopping is so
low compared to China and the United States, future research could
consider a more in-depth analysis of Japanese culture and
brick-and-mortar retail environments as well as an age-comparison be­
tween countries.
Funding
This work was supported by The Telecommunications Advancement
Foundation.
Ethical approval
This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of
Nagoya University and received ethical approval.
Informed consent
Data does not contain information that may identify an individual.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare the following financial interests/personal re­
lationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:
Shaowen Ni reports financial support was provided by Public Interest
Incorporated Foundation The Telecommunications Advancement
Foundation.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Acknowledgements
We want to thank The Telecommunications Advancement Founda­
tion for providing funding support for this research.
S. Ni and H. Ueichi Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 76 (2024) 103596

Appendix

Variable Item

Trust in general people online TG01 Most people on the Internet can be trusted
TG02 Most people on the Internet are generally good and kind
TG03 Most people on the Internet are trying to help others
TG04 Most people on the Internet have friendly interactions with each other

Change seeking CS01 I like to try new and different things rather than doing the same thing over and over again
CS02 I like to experience novelty and change in my daily routine
CS03 When things get boring, I like finding new and unfamiliar experiences
CS04 I prefer a varied and unpredictable life over a routine one

Anticipated regret AR01 When choosing something to buy, I worry that something better will come along after making the purchase
AR02 When choosing products, I wonder what it would have been like if I had chosen something else
AR03 I worry that people will say I should have given more thought to my choices
AR04 Even if I find something good, I am still afraid I might miss out on something better

Interpersonal orientation
IO01 I spend a lot of time and energy on building relationships with others
IO02 I know a lot of important people and have built good relationships with them
IO03 I am good at using personal connections to move things forward
IO04 I have built a very extensive network and can get support from others when I need it
IO05 I spend a lot of time and energy developing relationships with others
IO06 I’m good at building relationships with influential people

Extraversion Ex01 I love to talk

Ex02 I’m cheerful
Ex03 I’m extroverted
Ex04 I’m sociable
Ex05 I’m active

Social presence SP01 I feel more connected to strangers

SP02 I feel more comfortable talking to strangers
SP03 I get to feel the streamer’s warmth
SP04 I get to feel close to the streamer
SP05 I get to feel a human touch
SP06 I feel like I am not alone

Utilitarian attitude UA01 I find livestream shopping preferable

UA02 I find using livestream shopping a smart choice
UA03 I find livestream shopping practical
UA04 Livestream shopping generally meets my shopping needs

Hedonic attitude HA01 I find livestream shopping exciting

HA02 I love using livestream shopping
HA03 Livestream shopping improves my shopping experience

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