Towards a Sustainable Intelligent Transformation in E-Commerce: An Empirical Study of User Expectations and Perceptions of Virtual Anchors

E-commerce live streaming is increasingly constrained by the “anchor dilemma” of talent shortages and reputational volatility. Virtual anchors are viewed as a critical nexus for intelligent and sustainable e-commerce transformation, offering scalable and low-carbon potential. Yet, their user experience and perception remain underexplored. Methodologically, this study adopts a mixed empirical design combining literature review, expert interviews, and a structured questionnaire survey (N = 309), followed by reliability testing, paired-sample t-tests, and Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) to assess user expectations and perceptions. The integrated analysis resulted in a framework of fourteen evaluative attributes, within which spectacle and cross-platformity emerged as distinguishable dimensions observed in participants’ assessments. The results show that expectations (M = 4.41) significantly exceed perceptions (M = 3.74), with all 14 importance–performance gaps reaching significance. Interactivity, professionalism, and technological maturity emerged as priority areas for improvement, while spectacle and novelty were confirmed as key advantages, and credibility and emotional bonding outperformed expectations. Based on these findings, a phased strategy is proposed: short-term optimization of interaction and knowledge support, mid-term development of human–AI collaboration and platform adaptability, and long-term establishment of governance and commercialization ecosystems. The study enriches virtual anchor research and highlights that enhancing core competencies is essential to transform novelty into enduring sales and brand equity, providing a practical pathway for e-commerce’s intelligent and sustainable transformation.