The Impact of Immersion on Consumers' Purchase Intention in Live Streaming Commerce: A Moderated Mediation Model with Trust as Mediator and Shopping Involvement as Moderator—Implications for Sustainable Consumption

Against the sustained growth of China’s live streaming commerce, immersion is pivotal for consumer decision-making, yet existing studies overlook continuous moderators and systematic transmission mechanisms. Based on the SOR theory, this study explores how immersion influences purchase intention via trust, with shopping involvement as a moderator. Data from 455 Chinese live streaming shoppers were collected via Wenjuanxing and analyzed using SPSS 27.0, PROCESS macro, and AMOS 31.0. Results show immersion positively impacts trust, trust fully mediates the immersion-purchase intention link, and shopping involvement strengthens the immersion-trust effect for high-involvement consumers. This study enriches SOR theory’s application in digital consumption, offers marketers insights for immersive design and differentiated strategies, and contributes to sustainable consumption by reducing impulsive purchases through trust.