To embrace or reject? Consumer traits behind appreciation of virtual influencer endorsements

Purpose Virtual influencers (VIs) have emerged as a prevalent social media advertising phenomenon. Existing scholarship primarily focuses on how consumers respond to VIs’ distinct content and marketing strategies, neglecting individual consumer traits that shape heterogeneous ad responses. Based on the diffusion of innovations theory and the Modality Agency Interactivity Navigability model’s machine heuristics, this study aims to examine how consumer personal innovativeness and robot uneasiness are related to their evaluation of VI endorsements. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a cross-sectional survey conducted through an online consumer panel in China. The authors tested the relationships between individual psychological traits (i.e. personal innovativeness, uneasiness with robots) and consumers’ ad attitudes toward VIs’ endorsements, mediated through perceived product–endorser fit. Findings The results indicate that consumers’ personal innovativeness is positively associated with perceived product–endorser fit, whereas uneasiness with robots is negatively related to such perceived fit. Improved product–endorser fit was related to increased ad attitudes. These findings suggest that VIs may be particularly suitable for brands seeking to strengthen their innovative image, although their perceived artificiality may limit their ability to trigger favorable ad evaluations. Originality/value This study shifts the explanation of VI endorsement effectiveness from predominantly influencer-side tactics to consumer-side predispositions and examines how individual psychological traits are associated with consumers’ appreciation of VIs’ endorsements. These insights inform audience segmentation, VIs’ robot identity disclosure and product–endorser matching.