Given the rapid development of live streaming commerce in China, this study focuses on the interactivity and sociability of live streaming shopping activities and explores online consumers’ real-time interaction intentions and trust-building behaviours with online merchants. To discover the real-time interaction between online consumers and online merchants, this study builds a research model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). Through the data analysis based on the partial least squares path modelling and variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), the key findings state that, three factors, including attitude, subject norm, and perceived control, positively affect online consumers’ real-time interaction intentions and lead them to build trust with online merchants. Meanwhile, control variables, including gender, age, and educational background, demonstrate insignificant effects across the model. Unlike existing literature, the current study pays much attention to the interactive characteristics of live streaming shopping activities and can provide some valuable suggestions both for online consumers and online merchants, which can promote the co-development of the commercial and social aspects of live streaming platforms.

This study estimates the impact of third-party online payment systems on trade, export, import, and Internet retailing in China. Also, the study examines the financial development mechanism via which third-party payment affects trade, export, import, and Internet retailing in China. By employing a sample of 31 provinces in China covering 2011 to 2018, the findings indicate that, third-party payment drives China’s trade (0.43%), export (0.42%), import (0.47%), and Internet retailing (0.24%). The study also finds that third-party payment complements financial development to positively affect trade, export, import, and Internet retailing in China. The study recommends policymakers promote third-party payment development in China to boost trade, export, import, and Internet retailing.