PENGARUH KEMAMPUAN KOMUNIKASI AFFILIATE SAAT LIVE STREAMING TERHADAP MINAT BELI PRODUK SKINCARE MELALUI KEPERCAYAAN KONSUMEN PADA TIKTOK SHOP

Abstract

The rapid growth of live streaming commerce on TikTok Shop has positioned affiliates as the primary communicators shaping consumer behavior toward skincare products. This study analyzes how affiliates' communication skills during live streaming affect purchase intention for skincare products through consumer trust on TikTok Shop. Grounded in Source Credibility Theory (Hovland, Janis, & Kelley, 1953) and Commitment-Trust Theory (Morgan & Hunt, 1994), the study employed an explanatory quantitative design with a purposive sample of 100 Generation Z respondents who had watched skincare affiliate live streams, analyzed through multiple linear regression and the Sobel bootstrap mediation test using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. The results show that all three hypotheses are accepted. Affiliate communication skills exert a significant positive effect on consumer trust (B = 0.382; t = 3.810; p < 0.05), and consumer trust exerts a significant positive effect on purchase intention (B = 0.370; t = 5.631; p < 0.05). Consumer trust is also shown to partially mediate the effect of affiliate communication on purchase intention (indirect effect = 0.141; z = 3.151; p = 0.0016; bootstrap 95% CI [0.053; 0.229]). Together, the independent and mediating variables explain 60.9% of the variance in purchase intention. Notably, the communication aspect most appreciated by respondents is the use of communicative and casual language (mean = 4.20), while price and promotion transparency scores the lowest (mean = 4.08); trust is formed most strongly around perceived product knowledge competence (mean = 4.13), and purchase intention peaks conditionally, when the product is judged to meet expectations (mean = 4.08). Practically, affiliates need to deliver product information in an educational, honest, and transparent manner, especially regarding price and promotions, while skincare brands and sellers should select and equip competent affiliates as a strategy to drive purchase intention while building sustained consumer trust.