Click, Watch, Buy: Understanding Purchase Intention of Malaysian University Students in the Live Stream Shopping Era

This study aims to examine the factors that influence purchase intention in live streaming e-commerce among Malaysian university students. It explores background characteristics, shopping behaviours, and live stream features such as streamer expertise, broadcast scheduling, post-sales service, structural bonds, social bonds, and financial bonds. Data were collected from 347 university students using convenience sampling through an online survey. Group comparisons were conducted using t-tests for gender, and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) for other background characteristics and shopping behaviour variables. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between live stream features and purchase intention. The results show significant differences in purchase intention based on age, academic level, buying habits, frequency of watching live streams, and previous purchase behaviour. Among the predictors, streamer expertise, broadcast scheduling, post-sales service, social bonds, structural bonds, and financial bonds were all found to be strongly related to purchase intention. The findings offer useful insights for marketers to better understand how digital-native students engage with live stream platforms and suggest ways to improve strategies in the growing e-commerce market.