The Impact of Content Value and Streamer Credibility on Consumers’ Purchase Intention

With the rapid development of live-streaming e-commerce, the presentation of live-streaming content and streamer characteristics have become increasingly important factors influencing consumers’ purchase decisions, particularly in apparel live-streaming contexts. Compared with traditional e-commerce, live-streaming commerce reduces information asymmetry to some extent through real-time product display, interactive communication, and scenario-based marketing. However, substantial differences in conversion performance still exist across live-streaming sessions. Drawing on Uses and Gratifications Theory and Source Credibility Theory, this study develops a research framework to systematically examine the effects of live-streaming content value (entertainment value and informativeness) and streamer credibility (attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise) on consumer attitude and purchase intention. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of consumers with experience in watching or purchasing apparel products via TikTok live streams, yielding 436 valid responses. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted using SmartPLS to test the proposed hypotheses. The results indicate that both the entertainment value and informativeness of live-streaming content have significant positive effects on consumer attitude. In addition, streamer attractiveness, trustworthiness, and expertise significantly enhance consumer attitude, which in turn exerts a significant positive effect on purchase intention. Furthermore, bootstrap analysis reveals that consumer attitude plays a partial mediating role in the relationships between content value, streamer credibility, and purchase intention. These findings provide practical implications for content design, streamer development, and operational management in apparel live-streaming commerce.