IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v84y2025ics0969698924003849.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Product-independent or product-dependent: The impact of virtual influencers’ primed identity on purchase intention

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Xueying
  • Zhang, Yuexian

Abstract

With the wide application of virtual influencers (VIs), consumers are increasingly exposed to VIs with different primed identities. However, research on how VIs influence purchase intention from the perspective of primed identity remains limited. This study introduces a novel classification for VIs from the perspective of primed identity, namely product-independent VIs and product-dependent VIs, and explores whether different types of VIs have different effects on purchase intention. Three online experiments involving a total of 1025 participants were conducted, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 26. The findings indicate that compared to a product-independent VI, a product-dependent VI generates higher purchase intention, and cognitive and emotional trust play mediating roles. Additionally, linguistic style and brand prominence moderate the relationship between VIs and purchase intention via cognitive and emotional trust. This research expands VIs studies from the perspective of primed identity and reinforces the importance of selecting the appropriate VIs, offering practical advice to marketers on how to choose VIs with different primed identities.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Xueying & Zhang, Yuexian, 2025. "Product-independent or product-dependent: The impact of virtual influencers’ primed identity on purchase intention," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:84:y:2025:i:c:s0969698924003849
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104088
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698924003849
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104088?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:84:y:2025:i:c:s0969698924003849. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.