Virtual Idols’ influence on Consumer’s brand attitude and purchase intention: A perspective of para-social interaction

• Virtual idols are computer-generated celebrities that could be an appropriate medium to influence Generation Z. • Digital entity, anthropomorphic appearance, and idol activity engagement are three definitional elements of virtual idols. • Virtual idol characteristics including physical attractiveness, social attractiveness, activity, and homophily in attitude and morality dimensions are crucial for audiences to form para -social interaction toward virtual idols. • The impact of audiences’ para -social interaction on audiences’ purchase intention more counted on the mediation of audiences’ brand attitudes. • Brand attitude is more suitable to be set as the primary goal in virtual idol endorsement. Generation Z is becoming a dominant force in the consumer market, prompting numerous brands to turn to virtual idols as brand endorsers to connect with this new generation. This has led to the emergence of virtual idol marketing. To understand the influence of these virtual digital celebrities on consumers, this study first identifies the key definitional elements of virtual idols. It then seeks to explain how virtual idols impact consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase intentions through the lens of para -social interaction. This study uses PLS-SEM analysis (N = 418) and finds that virtual idols’ characteristics (i.e., physical attractiveness, social attractiveness, activity, homophily in attitude and morality dimensions) are antecedents of audiences’ para -social interaction toward virtual idols. This para -social interaction, in turn, can positively impact target audiences’ brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Brand attitude is suggested to be the primary marketing goal rather than purchase intention in virtual idol endorsement. This study contributes to the research on the emerging field of virtual idol marketing and offers practical implications for marketing practitioners in the digital era.