Unlocking Trust Dynamics: An Exploration of Playfulness, Expertise, and Consumer Behavior in Virtual Influencer Marketing

In the dynamic realm of virtual influencer marketing, we address a research gap: the motivations underlying social media users’ trust in and engagement with human-like virtual influencers remain underexplored. Trust plays a pivotal role in the digital landscape and underscores the importance of building credible relationships. We investigate the intricate interplay between utilitarian and hedonic factors, introducing the novel concepts of virtual influencer playfulness and content expertise as pivotal determinants in the formation of trust and purchase intentions. Accordingly, data from 485 active social media users in the United States were collected using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk and Qualtrics Panel Database. Our empirical findings highlight the positive effects of virtual influencer playfulness and content expertise on trust in a virtual influencer, brand trust, and purchase intention, affirming the interplay between these factors in shaping social media users’ decisions in the digital marketing sphere.