Consumer Anxiety and Purchase Intention in Live Commerce: Unraveling the Mediating Role of Brand Familiarity Amidst COVID-19

The rapid progress of technology has dramatically transformed daily life, with the widespread impact of network and internet communication technologies. Live commerce has been a favored shopping method among Chinese customers, seeing increased popularity. During the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, customers have been actively participating in socializing and shopping using live commerce platforms due to their worries about safety and convenience. Although there is current research on consumer anxiety, there is still a significant vacuum in our understanding of how anxiety specifically affects the desire to make purchases among consumers of live commerce during the pandemic. This study explores the complex dynamics by evaluating how consumer fear caused by COVID-19 affects the willingness to make purchases in the live commerce industry. Our research examines the complex relationships involved in using parasocial interaction and social presence as explanatory frameworks. The results, derived from data gathered from 545 Chinese individuals in January 2022, emphasize the notable influence of consumer concern on the desire to make purchases in live commerce. Parasocial interaction and social presence are identified as crucial mediators, providing insight into the mechanisms by which anxiety influences consumer behavior. Brand familiarity significantly reduces the impact of parasocial interaction and social presence on purchase intention. This study provides a theoretical framework and aligns with the ideals of the information economy. It offers practical insights for live commerce platforms and merchants dealing with the intricacies of consumer behavior during the ongoing pandemic.