The interaction effect of virtual streamer anthropomorphism and price expectation discrepancy on purchase intention: The mediating role of inferred intentions

With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual streamers have gained widespread adoption, as they are inexpensive and can mitigate public relations risks. However, they also face challenges such as a lack of emotional resonance and insufficient trust. Some existing research suggests that high anthropomorphism enhances trust and purchase intention, whereas other studies indicate it may trigger negative attitudes. This divergence is primarily due to the insufficient attention to transactional context—the price expectation discrepancy (PED). This study examines how anthropomorphism (high vs. low) and PED (price higher vs. lower than expected) influence consumer purchase intention. Three online experiments reveal a significant interaction effect between anthropomorphism of virtual streamers and PED on purchase intention. When prices are lower than expected, high anthropomorphism streamers enhance purchase intention more than virtual streamers with low anthropomorphism. When prices exceed expectations, high-anthropomorphism avatars reduce purchase intention more significantly than low-anthropomorphism ones. Inferred intentions mediate this effect: virtual streamers with high anthropomorphism evoke benevolent intent perceptions at low prices and selfish intent perceptions at high prices; virtual streamers with low anthropomorphism weaken such intent-based inferences. Moreover, AI literacy weakens this mediation pathway, indicating a moderated mediation process. This study provides the first systematic evidence that PED conditions the effects of anthropomorphism in livestream commerce, theoretically extending the concept of expectation discrepancy and social information processing to human–computer interactions and refining individual differences via AI literacy. Managerially, the findings guide the alignment of anthropomorphism with pricing strategies in the live streaming e-commerce industry.