Why livestreamers should sell their products with a poker face – not a smile

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. Smiling or exhibiting other positive emotional displays while selling a product over live video – known as livestreaming – makes people less likely to buy it, we found in new research published in the Journal of Marketing. Livestreaming through channels such as Amazon Live and QVC is an increasingly popular way to sell goods online. In segments that usually last somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes, someone pitches a product. Viewers can then readily buy it by clicking on a link.