1. Introduction

With the rapid development of the Internet and digital technology, the way consumers shop is changing. Among them, live streaming with goods, an emerging form of shopping in recent years, has turned into an indispensable part of Chinese consumers’ daily lives. Live streaming with goods first appeared in 2016. During this period, anchors and celebrities acted as the main live streamers on e-commerce platforms to recommend and sell products to consumers through live streaming. Merchants and consumers were still relatively few at this time. By 2018, with the rapid development of social e-commerce and the rise of short video platforms, live streaming with goods began to be accepted by more merchants and consumers. The business model of live carry is gradually maturing, and major e-commerce platforms have laid out the live carry segment. In 2021, with the popularity of short videos and the emergence of more and more e-commerce companies, live streaming has entered its heyday. Online shopping users’ online consumption channels live home from Taobao, Jingdong, and other e-commerce platforms to short videos. According to the statistics of China Intelligence Network 2021 live broadcast e-commerce market transaction scale reached 236.151 billion yuan [1]. It is nearly 120 times more than in 2017. And in the first half of 2022, traditional e-commerce platform consumption accounted for 27.3%, however, live streaming accounted for 49.7% [1]. Live streaming with goods is becoming more important for consumers and has become one of the main ways for people to shop.

Due to fierce competition, the platform revenue also grows year by year. For example, in Taobao in 2020 ‘618’ live broadcasting through “10 billion subsidies”, inviting celebrities to stand, and other ways, the revenue of 698.2 billion yuan [2]. Xiaohongshu is also an e-commerce live platform, In November 2019 Xiaohongshu began the e-commerce live business, and by July 2020 it introduced more than 30,000 brands stationed, a number of brands stationed in the year-on-year growth of 83% [2].

There are many advantages of live streaming with goods. The first is that live streaming with goods involves a very wide range of commodities, compared with the previous online shopping, live streaming with goods makes people’s shopping faster and more convenient, efficient, and intuitive. People can quickly learn about the goods themselves according to the description of the e-commerce anchor. And when the anchor recommends this commodity, the price is often lower in the live broadcast. Also, the large scale can create and provide more careers. Whether it is a large enterprise or a small workshop, it can be live-streamed with goods. The most important thing is the wide audience. Whether old people and children, boys and girls, everyone has heard of or tried live shopping, and its characteristic of being able to break through spatial limitations has attracted countless people.

Teenagers are very noteworthy as one of them. This age group is usually susceptible to the influence of their peers and online idols. Anchors may display luxury items, fashionable clothing, etc., enticing viewers to mimic their spending behavior, leading to impulse purchases. Webcasting platforms usually allow viewers to buy virtual gifts for the anchors, which can have no real value in real life but can be displayed on the web platform. Mei-Yi Wang suggests that adolescents may spend a large amount of money on these virtual gifts to gain recognition or attention from the anchor [3]. Teenagers do not have the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, and they tend to act on impulse for the sake of momentary vanity. Webcasting and shopping can bring a sense of instant gratification. When teenagers feel depressed or bored, they may tend to seek pleasure through spending, which may lead to impulse buying. So how much are teenagers affected by webcasting?

2. Literature Review

2.1. Impact Of Webcasting

As an emerging consumption mode, webcasting has a guiding force on consumers’ purchasing behavior and willingness. Zhang Yuting and Song Beichen stated that webcasting possesses many qualities, including interactivity, entertainment, price discounts, visibility, and perceptual arousal, which awaken consumers’ willingness to make impulsive purchases [4]. With the popularity of webcasting, anchors have become a new type of profession, and gradually consumers will choose to buy products based on the recommendations of web stars or celebrities. Xu Qian said that the anchor attracts the attention of the user by showing the product to the viewer, bringing the distance between the user closer and the end user to consume [5]. So based on the webcast, let’s understand what impulse consumption is.

2.2. Impulse Consumption

Impulse spending is defined as unplanned purchasing and is considered to be when a consumer buys an item that was not planned. This is attributed to well-developed promotional messages. Contemporary marketing innovations, such as online shopping, have made impulse spending more likely to occur. Consumers cannot be restrained from impulse buying. In this process, consumers make quick decisions without thinking carefully about the meaning as well as the value of the goods. Impulse spending exists in not just one product but in all products. And by means of live streaming, unlike the flat display of e-commerce, live streaming can ferment impulse consumption behavior through distinct emotions.

The main reasons for impulse buying can be categorized into three: emotion, protocol, and love. Contemporary people are very emotional. If you have had a tough day and these presenters are very passionate about the products, you will want to get something good to make you feel better. The next thing is the protocol. Prices are often lower on the live stream, which is an agreement between the brand and the presenter. Who wants to pay full price? It’s a marketing strategy. According to surveys, 78% of shoppers around me make impulse purchases because of discounts, while the remaining 22% don’t watch much of the live streaming platform. That means people basically can’t resist the strength of the deals in a live stream. Yili Liao Discounts and offers provided online can better respond to consumers’ pursuit of price and also increase their desire to buy [6]. The discounts in a live webcast will be bigger than in offline shops, and with the verbal guidance of the anchor, very few people can ignore it. Finally, there is the love of shopping. When impulse buying adds up, it can create a shopping addiction. These three reasons have a huge impact on teens. Firstly teens have no way of exercising self-control over themselves. Secondly, teenagers have limited money, they have no source of income and have to rely on the pocket money given by their parents. This time the low price or huge discount in webcasting proposed by Yiwen Li will better attract consumers [7]. Nam Ka Hee suggests that webcasting brings a relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere, then it can bring happiness to people [8].

2.3. Influence of Anchors

Wu Jing suggested that different anchors evoke different emotions in consumers when promoting goods [9]. The main ones are credibility, professionalism, and attractiveness. Consumers will be influenced by the credibility of the anchor, usually more inclined to the anchor with higher credibility, and feel free to buy the goods recommended by them. Professional anchors can use some techniques to continuously pull in the distance with consumers and eventually sell the goods. Or the anchor has obvious characteristics, such as a good personality or beauty, will be more attractive to consumers.

2.4. Adolescents’ Consumer Values

So what exactly are the consumer values of adolescents? Consumer values are interactive with other values. Consumption behavior plays an important guiding role. It is not only influenced by the macro-environment but also by the micro-environment like family and peer group. Adolescents can blindly follow the trend; they have not yet entered society and do not know how to differentiate between marketing tactics. Mo Haiqiong says that they have not fully established a correct value, so they are unable to distinguish between right and wrong, or good and bad [10]. Then the words of the anchor in the network’s live broadcast can be used to seize the potential consumers in the youth, and constitute impulse consumption. Virtual gifts are also a very widespread behavior in network consumption. When teenagers face some anchors, they may spend a lot of money to buy these virtual gifts in order to get the recognition or attention of the anchor. They are willing to pay something to the anchor after watching. This is essentially the same as a live-streaming.

3. Sources And Analysis

3.1. Source Of Data

In this paper, 35 responses were collected through the distribution of a questionnaire, which did not set any limitations on the viewing platforms of live e-commerce broadcasts. Inquiries were made as to whether or not they have spent money on live streaming platforms, their frequency, and whether or not the purchases are made with practicality in mind. The age group of which was varied between 15 and 18 years old and the average age was 17.11 years. The percentage of females in this sample is 69%, while males are 31%. The spending level of these teenagers varies between $1500 and $5000 a month. And basically, they have the same level of education as well as the same family background.

3.2. Data Analysis

Among the respondents, 72.3% of them have purchased goods on live streaming, while 27.7 of them have not made any purchases. And basically is once a month again or once a week. These two frequencies accounted for almost 65.71 of the percentage. The questionnaire shows that most people watch live streaming at least once a week (54.29%) or at least once a month (40%). Only 2% of people never watch live streams. The last two questions, and the most crucial ones in the questionnaire, asked these 35 teenagers whether they consider practicality when buying goods and whether the anchor will have an influence on them. Firstly, facing the first question, 68.57% answered that they would consider the practicality. That means people will not buy too blindly. However, there are still 31.43% of people in impulsive consumption behavior. So will people be guided by the anchor to spend money? 80% of people answered yes to this question. From this, it can conclude that the anchor is indeed a very powerful role in guiding. So the consideration of the practicality of the goods is even more doubtful. Because the anchor will always highlight the goodness of the item and will try to make you feel that this item is essential. You will get many benefits by owning it. The anchor transmits these words and may end up influencing the judgment of the consumer.

3.3. Findings Of the Study

For the above data analysis, the questionnaire went a step further and investigated the types of goods that teenagers would buy and the anchors that they watch live streaming. The 26 respondents of the 35 questionnaires who have purchased goods were asked about the type of shopping. About 76.92% of the respondents would buy daily necessities such as beauty and skincare products, or food. The remaining 23.08% would buy virtual gifts or other paraphernalia. This result is not really a surprise, as there was a preponderance of female responses. Gender makes a difference in teenagers’ impulse spending. People must not be able to resist when there are discounts on beauty products, especially some reputable flat shots. Based on the above feedback, a final survey was conducted on the anchors that people watch. Unsurprisingly, head anchors like Jiaqi Li were the most popular. This was followed by shop dumps as well as agent anchors. A well-known anchor like Li Jiaqi is preferred firstly because it is more reassuring and offers great deals. However, the benefits to the consumer are often reduced by the lack of vigilance of the anchor. Teenagers can only see the benefits superficially, but they won’t be able to count the number of lies that may come out of the anchor’s mouth, such as false advertising. This doesn’t happen quite often. But live shop broadcasts cannot be ignored, due to the fact that the prices are very low plus their anchors tend to speak very forcefully, this is something that will provoke consumers to spend money.

3.4. Conclusion Of the Study

The impact of webcasting on teenagers is actually generated by different factors. Teenagers mainly refer to junior high school students and undergraduate students aged 11 to 19. This group includes minors as well as students who have just reached adulthood. In fact, this age group is very shallow-minded, so when the live shopping platform adopts the marketing tactic of a limited-time rush when selling goods, they will not have the ability to think too much. They are more after getting short-lived pleasure, and this psychological satisfaction encourages them to do everything they want to do as they please.

In this study, the spending power of the answering consumer groups is basically the same. The main impacts of live streaming are what the anchor says and the type of product being promoted, and it is these two factors that cause teenagers to be motivated to buy. The content of the anchor’s language stimulates this consumer, and teenagers will very much believe in the anchor’s words. So this has a significant impact on the willingness to buy. They are always good at catching the consumer’s consumption psychology to attack, for example, to cause your climbing psychology. For these 35 teenagers who have a high relative consumption level, the guidance of web anchors is very strong. Maybe people will consider the practicality, but ignore the truthfulness of the anchors’ propaganda words. So the data in the survey does not necessarily reflect the real situation and is not necessarily accurate. So according to the above analysis, the influence of network anchors on teenagers’ consumption is huge.

4. Conclusion

4.1. Key Findings

Webcasting will drive teenagers to consume, which is derived from the questionnaire above. Webcasting is a very new way of buying and selling. It stimulates teenagers’ purchasing motivation by virtue of its rich content, favorable price and convenience. As teenagers are still in a critical period in the formation of values, when teenagers are in the live broadcasting room, they will buy a large number of products or reward higher amount in order to attract the attention of the live broadcasting anchor, so that maybe the anchor will see them or remember them. At this age, short people pursue individuality, leading fashion, also have great vanity. The influence of the anchor in the whole process of buying behavior is very strong. When you are watching a live broadcast, there seems to be someone who keeps urging you to place an order. Under the urging of the anchor, rationality seems to be difficult to survive. This is why anchors are so passionate. Such emotions can drive viewers. Teenagers can blindly order because of the anchor’s side of the story, or they can passionately buy based on what’s prevalent. That’s why consumer behavior is easily influenced by anchors.

4.2. Recommendations

This paper makes recommendations from this perspective. The first suggestion is that teenagers should reduce their viewing of webcasts in order to eliminate the impulsive consumption behavior caused by webcasts at the source. Second, the state should improve the regulation of webcasting in terms of content control limits, qualification of practitioners, and authenticity. Finally, families should establish the correct values for teenagers. This can reduce the impact of webcasting on the phenomenon of impulsive consumption. Most of the young people in the sample have better living conditions and a favorable environment and often do not appreciate the hard-earned value of money. Parents teach the concept of financial management to curb young people’s misspending.

4.3. Limitations

There are shortcomings in this questionnaire, firstly, the sample part is small in number, which is lacks representativeness. In addition, the distribution of the sample is relatively concentrated, and there is not a very big gap between people’s family background and consumption ability. So the sample size can be further expanded to cover a wider group. Then there is the lack of clarity about the specific reasons for the influence of webcasting on teenagers’ consumption behaviour. The relationship between the two can be analyzed from more levels.