Exploring Gamification for Live-Streaming Shopping—Influence of Reward, Competition, Presence and Immersion on Purchase Intention

Abstract

As a new form of social commerce, live-streaming shopping (LSS) provides customers with vivid real-time communication/interaction. However, there is limited research investigating the impacts of gamification in LSS. Thus, this study explores the relationships between gamification, customers’ engagement and purchase intention in LSS. A research model is formulated, and a questionnaire-based online survey is administrated to LSS viewers for empirically validating the model. Through the analysis of 272 collected questionnaires by using SPSS and AMOS, this study shows that gamification elements (including reward and competition) can enhance customers’ engagement (comprising sense of presence and immersion) and purchase intention. Moreover, sense of presence significantly mediates the indirect effects of reward and competition on purchase intention, but immersion does not mediate such effects. Stores and brands can design LSS programs with reward and competition to enhance customers’ sense of presence, immersion and purchase intention. Strategically, they should focus more on presence than immersion to better achieve their goals of LSS.

Keywords

• Live-streaming shopping
• gamification
• reward
• competition
• customer engagement
• sense of presence