The Influence of Virtual Anchor Characteristics on Consumers ' Purchase Intention in the Context of E-commerce Live Broadcasting

Virtual anchor is an emerging type that has become widely employed in e-commerce live streaming as it continues to expand. This study builds a model of the influence of virtual anchor features on customer purchase intention based on SOR theory and classes virtual anchor features into professionalism, attractiveness, interaction, and anthropomorphism. The study uses a questionnaire to collect data and establishes a regression model for empirical analysis. The study's findings indicate that while anthropomorphism has no discernible impact on consumers' buying intentions, the professionalism, beauty, and interaction of virtual anchors significantly increase such intentions. Virtual anchor features and purchase intention are mediated by flow experience and perceived trust. The study's findings imply that e-commerce businesses should concentrate on raising the level of expertise of virtual anchors in relevant domains, creating and refining interactive features, making virtual anchors more visually appealing, and using anthropomorphism sensibly to increase customers' propensity to make a purchase.