Stay With Me: Unveiling the Pathways to Consumer Loyalty in Live Streaming Commerce

ABSTRACT The compelling appeal of live streaming commerce has grabbed the attention of businesses and individual vendors; thus, the market has seen a surge in competitiveness. A prevailing challenge has emerged in the wake of this trend: maintaining customer loyalty in an environment where consumers can effortlessly switch between different live‐stream channels. This study investigates the key factors influencing consumer behavior (i.e., loyalty) in live streaming commerce by employing an explanatory sequential mixed‐methods design. In Study 1, survey data were collected from 507 participants, followed by semistructured interviews in Study 2. The PLS‐SEM results indicate that processing fluency (both imagery and comprehension fluency) fosters immersion, subsequently satisfying consumers' basic psychological needs. The fulfillment of these basic psychological needs fosters loyalty. Additionally, self‐disclosure and transportability play a moderating role. The fsQCA results identified four configurations, each with different combinations of causal conditions that explain the formation of loyalty. The follow‐up qualitative study confirms the findings and identifies additional themes that are worth research consideration. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.