How livestream engagement inspires tourist purchasing behaviour: A multi-study approach

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, livestream commerce has become a powerful tool for tourism providers. This study underscores the pressing need for businesses within the tourism sector to understand the nuances of this dynamic medium and align their marketing strategies accordingly. In responding to calls, this research utilises a rigorous mixed-methods approach to examine the interactions between streamers, viewers, and the broader online community. Inspiration theory and optimum stimulation level theory are applied in a tourism context to examine how livestream viewers’ individual differences influence their inspiration for impulse buying and cross-buying. Further, sociomateriality is adopted to examine how the interconnectedness of livestreaming has an impact on inspiration and behaviours. Findings from in-depth interviews and an online survey of social media users who had livestreaming commerce experience indicate that impulse buying and cross-buying are driven by antecedents such as two-way communications between streamers and individuals and online communities and individuals, as well as the perception of inspiration. These relationships are moderated by the optimum stimulation level. This study offers directions for further research and insights for managers, suggesting a focus on the dynamics of livestream commerce. • Explores how livestreaming engagement affects tourist buying behaviour using a multi-method research design. • Merges inspiration theory and OSL theory to assess impulsive and cross-buying in the tourism context. • Applies sociomateriality theory to study tech and social interaction impacts on consumer behaviour in livestreams. • Uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to assess livestreaming’s effect on tourism marketing. • Examines gaps in research by exploring consumer inspiration and social interaction in livestreaming settings.