Real-time interaction unpacked: how live-streaming drives impulsive buying through presence and transcendent customer experience

Purpose Grounded in the interactive marketing perspective and service-dominant logic, this study presents a dynamic view of real-time interaction in live-streaming social commerce (LSC), highlighting the interplay between viewer–streamer/viewer–viewer interactions and platform facilitation. It further examines how these interactions influence presence and transcendent customer experience (TCE), ultimately eliciting the urge to buy impulsively, with platform facilitation as a boundary condition. Design/methodology/approach The proposed direct-moderating model was tested using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique on a sample of 339 LSC viewers. Findings The results show that viewer–streamer and viewer–viewer interactions influence presence and TCE, with LSC platform facilitation as a contingent factor. Presence and TCE, in turn, can invoke the urge to buy impulsively. Research limitations/implications Future studies should investigate viewer–platform interaction as a determinant of viewers’ experiences. Also, viewers’ personality traits should be integrated as moderators of the process leading to impulsive buying. Practical implications It is significant that streamers increase the level of interaction between themselves and viewers as well as among viewers, by taking advantage of LSC platform facilitation. Managers of LSC platforms should improve the capabilities of their platforms in supporting real-time interactions. Originality/value This study offers a dynamic and intricate perspective on real-time interaction in the context of LSC, highlighting its ability to enhance viewers’ experiences and drive impulsive buying.