Dynamic Platforms and Strategic Interactions

Live streaming commerce, integrating real-time interaction with online retailing, is reshaping consumer behavior. While prior studies have focused on sales drivers, how to attract viewers remains underexplored. This study fills this gap by analyzing how short videos drive traffic acquisition in live streaming commerce, using a large Douyin dataset and OLS regressions with multiple robustness checks. Results show that sociability (likes, comments) and demographic match between streamers and viewers (gender, geography) enhance traffic acquisition, whereas commercialization through sponsored ads weakens it. The interval between video release and live streaming shows an inverted U-shaped effect on traffic acquisition. Moreover, streamer influence dampens the positive effects of sociability and matching, while production input mitigates the negative impact of commercialization. This study advances research on short video marketing and live streaming commerce and offers guidance for global digital commerce participants to optimize short video strategies for greater engagement and value.