Investigating the Streamer’s Halo and Viewer’s Bandwagon Effects in Live-stream Sales

The rapid growth of e-commerce, particularly through live streaming, has transformed the way consumers interact with brands. These platforms enable real-time engagement and product promotion. However, it remains unclear how consumers process conflicting cues in such dynamic environments. This study draws on source credibility theory and cognitive heuristics to explore how audiences and streamers influence decision-making. Across four online experiments with 1,227 participants, the results show that negative viewer comments have a stronger impact than positive impressions of streamers. These negative comments lower product preference and purchase intention. Positive audience cues, fail to offset the negative effect of an unattractive streamer. To test robustness, we introduced promotional incentives. These incentives reduced the impact of negative comments on product preference but did not increase purchase intention. However, when paired with positive comments, incentives helped mitigate the negative impact of streamer impressions and boosted consumer motivation to make a purchase. We also found that streamer fame and familiarity help improve evaluations, even when first impressions are unfavorable. This research extends source credibility theory by moving from a single-source to a dual-source persuasion model. It provides new insights into how consumers rely on heuristics to resolve cue conflicts during live-stream shopping. The findings offer practical strategies for streamers and marketers to improve engagement and sales.