Cross-session content configuration in hybrid livestreaming: how promotional spacing and intervening nonpromotional sessions shape sales performance

Purpose This study examines how cross-session content configuration in hybrid livestreaming – specifically, the interval between consecutive promotional sessions and the presence of nonpromotional sessions between them – jointly affects sales performance. Design/methodology/approach We analyse 50,126 fitness livestreaming sessions from 286 Douyin streamers using Chanmama data. Models with streamer and date fixed effects estimate the association between promotional-interval length and subsequent sales and test the moderating effect of nonpromotional session presence (NTSP). Findings Sales are positively associated with promotional-interval length with diminishing marginal returns, with any apparent downturn confined to the sparse right tail. NTSP moderates this curvature: when a nonpromotional session intervenes, longer intervals are associated with larger gains at short intervals, but marginal gains attenuate sooner as intervals lengthen. Originality/value This study extends promotion-spacing research by showing that, in hybrid livestreaming, the effect of the interval between promotions depends not only on its length, but also on the content embedded within that interval. It also advances livestreaming commerce research by showing that promotional performance is shaped not only by within-session dynamics, but also by cross-session content configuration.