Analyzing Online Shopping Behavior from the Perspective of Youtube: Do Vlog Content and Vlogger Characteristics Matter

Abstract

Video blogs (Vlogs) and video bloggers (Vloggers) have gained importance in marketing with their entertaining and educational content as they are attracting huge numbers of viewers and are therefore shaping many consumers' attitudes and purchase decisions. Research on vlogs concentrated on content characteristics, vlogger characteristics and general vlog features. However, this stream of research is fragmented, mostly ignores vlog audience motivations and lacks empirical investigations that parsimoniously study influence of certain vlog and vlogger characteristics on consumers' online purchase decisions. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of vlog content value in terms of informativeness and entertainment and vlogger personal characteristics such as authoritative and engagement knowledge on consumers' information satisfaction and further on their intention to shop online. With this aim, data were gathered via an online survey from 627 purposively sampled respondents and a theoretical structural equation model was tested. Vlog content's informative and entertaining value and authoritative knowledge of the vlogger were found to be important factors explaining information satisfaction, whereas the effect of engagement knowledge on information satisfaction was insignificant. Furthermore, strong impact of information satisfaction on intention to shop online was determined. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed in the paper.