Understand Livestream Impulsive and Repeat Purchases Using Reflective–Impulsive Dual-system Model

Livestream shopping is becoming the new powerhouse for e-commerce, with a $3532 billion projected market by 2032 (Business Research Insights, 2024). Impulsive purchases, a fundamental driver for the success of livestream shopping, are often perplexed by increased product return rates and a potentially compromised shopping experience (Zhang et al., 2024). Some consumers may refrain from making future purchases. It is necessary for sellers to consider impulsive purchases along with consumers’ repeat buying intent. To date, there is a paucity of theory-based research that jointly examines these purchasing behaviors within the context of livestream shopping. To advance this line of research, this study drew upon the reflective–impulsive dual-system model (RIM) to explore the impact mechanism of livestream commerce on consumers' impulsive and repeat purchases. From analyzing the perceptions of 287 livestream shoppers, this study reveals that the two types of purchases are under the influence of both reflective and impulsive systems but to a different extent. Impulsive purchases are dominantly induced by impulsive systems where impulsive buying tendency, a situational personality trait, is the central leverage point. In contrast, repeat purchase intention is swayed more by reflective systems where perceived symbolic values of livestream shopping is the central leverage point. In addition, we verified arousal as a complex boundary condition in RIM. These findings shed novel insights into the research on dual-path information processing and carry important implications for livestream shopping platforms to design effective measures and digital marketing strategies for enticing and retaining customers.