Unveiling the Effect of TechTubers' Unboxing Videos on Consumer Buying Behavior

Purpose: The study examines the effect of TechTubers’ unboxing videos on consumer buying behavior by highlighting the role of product touch, visual and verbal sensory cues. The study integrates the vicarious touch and the dual coding theory to analyze the Smartphone purchase behavior of Generation Z. Research design, data and methodology: The study collected data from 349 respondents who were viewers of YouTube unboxing videos. A structured questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale was employed as a survey instrument. Convenience sampling technique was utilized to select the samples. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: Results reveal that vicarious touch and verbal description have a statistically significant positive effect on Generation Z’s purchase intention of Smartphone. Moreover, purchase intention positively affects Generation Z’s actual purchase behavior of Smartphone. However, the visual images did not significantly affect purchase intention. Conclusions: The study offers significant theoretical and practical implications. The study adds new knowledge to the extant literary field by highlighting the impact of digital product presentation in the form of Unboxing videos on purchase intention for technology products. Moreover, the study suggests content sponsorship and advertising opportunities for marketers in collaboration with the TechTubers on YouTube unboxing video platform.