Digital Interaction Mechanisms in Live Commerce: Effects on Customer Engagement and Purchase Intention among Generation Z

Live commerce is a technology-mediated environment of commerce that combines real-time communication, interactive aspects of the platform and mechanisms of digital engagement into online shopping activities. Despite its rapid expansion, little study has been done on how numerous platform-mediated interaction mechanisms influence customer engagement and purchase intention in an integrated way, especially among Generation Z consumers in emerging digital economies. The present study investigated the impacts of promotion intensity, live host interactivity, and host credibility on consumer engagement and buy intention in the context of live commerce on the “Orange” e-commerce platform. Based on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model, the study conceptualizes these aspects as interaction mechanisms that affect customer engagement and behavioral consequences. A quantitative exploratory technique was used to collect data from 210 respondents with live commerce experience. The data were analyzed using the use of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that promotion intensity, live host interactivity and host credibility have positive and significant influence on both customer engagement and purchase intention. It was also shown that the customer involvement has considerable influence on purchasing intention. The model explained 55.2% of the variance in customer involvement and 68.3% of the variance in purchase intention. The results emphasize the significance of platform-mediated interaction mechanisms for user engagement and purchase-related behavior in the live commerce setting. This study contributes to Information Systems research by providing empirical evidence on how technology-enabled interaction features influence consumer engagement and behavioral outcomes in digital commerce ecosystems.