真人还是虚拟？电商品牌形象对消费者购买意愿的影响

Human or Virtual Avatars? The Impact of E-Commerce Brand Image on Consumer Purchase Intention

摘要: 随着虚拟主播、品牌IP和AI代言人在电子商务领域的兴起，品牌应选择真人形象还是虚拟形象作为其化身，已成为重要的战略决策。本文旨在通过构建一个“整合–区分”理论模型，系统梳理两类形象对消费者购买意愿的影响机制。研究发现，专业性、吸引力与可信度是两类品牌形象共同发挥作用的核心中介机制。然而，两者驱动上述机制的底层逻辑存在差别：真人形象的核心优势在于真实性，通过透明、真诚和情感共鸣直接赋能共同机制，而虚拟形象依赖于拟人化，通过赋予外观、对话模式和情感等人类特征间接赋能共同机制。本文明晰了双路径作用模型，为电商企业在不同情境下选择与优化品牌形象提供了理论依据与实践启示。

Abstract: With the rise of virtual anchors, brand IP, and AI spokespeople in the e-commerce field, the choice for brands between real human images or virtual images as their avatars has become an important strategic decision. This paper aims to systematically sort out the impact mechanism of these two types of images on consumers’ purchasing intentions by constructing an “integration-differentiation” theoretical model. The study finds that expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness are the core intermediary mechanisms through which both types of brand images work together. However, the underlying logic driving these mechanisms differs between them: the core advantage of a real human image lies in its authenticity, directly empowering the common mechanism through transparency, sincerity, and emotional resonance, while a virtual image relies on anthropomorphism, indirectly empowering the common mechanism by endowing it with human characteristics such as appearance, dialogue patterns, and emotions. This paper clarifies the dual-path action model, providing a theoretical basis and practical insights for e-commerce companies to choose and optimize brand images under different circumstances.