Beyond the Shores of Reality: The Effect of Virtual Influencers on Luxury Perception and Its Downstream Consequence
通过六项研究，发现虚拟（相比真人）影响者推荐产品时，消费者会因心理距离和感知独特性而认为产品更奢侈，但披露虚拟影响者来源会削弱这一效果，并影响广告点击率、支付意愿和购买意愿。
ABSTRACT Many marketing practices results show that virtual influencers play an unexpected positive effect in promoting the product luxury perception. However, the current research lacks a deep exploration of consumers' psychological reactions behind this phenomenon. Through six studies, this study reveals that when virtual (vs. human) influencers endorse products, consumers perceive the product as more luxurious, with psychological distance and perceived exclusivity playing a serially mediating role. However, when the origin of virtual influencer is disclosed, the perceived psychological distance of consumers is reduced, which will reduce the luxury perception of products. In addition, this study explores the higher click‐through rates (CTR) on advertisement, willingness to pay (WTP) and purchase intention as the downstream consequence of the effect. In addition, we also explore when facing popular brands, the positive effect of virtual influencers on downstream behaviors is disappeared. The research offers valuable insights and guidance for the research and practice in related fields.