The present study compared the effectiveness of virtual influencers (VIs) to human influencers through the theoretical lens of the uncanny valley and parasocial relationship using an online experiment. Specifically, we posited that highly humanlike VIs may evoke the feeling of the uncanny valley, as compared to human influencers or cartoonlike influencers, which, in turn, would act as a psychological barrier to building a parasocial relationship with the specific type of virtual influencer and decrease advertising attitude. The results indicated that people do feel the uncanniness from both highly humanlike and cartoonish influencers as compared to human influencers. This particular psychological experience negatively influenced the parasocial relationship, which, in turn, negatively affected the attitude toward a social media advertisement featuring the VIs. However, importantly, this effect was moderated by individual differences in anthropomorphism. This is one of the first studies that directly compared the effectiveness of different types of social media influencers in a rigorously designed experimental setting and expands the previous research on Vis, uncanny valley, and parasocial relationship. Both theoretical and managerial contributions of the study were discussed.

With the development of technology, mobile fingerprint instruments are now actively introduced to consumers as a secure and convenient solution to problems related to identity control and authorization verification management in m-payment systems. This study aims to reveal whether consumers’ inference about a tradeoff between convenience and security still influences today’s m-payment environments. A presumed research model was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling to explore the effects of perceived security, privacy, and convenience of Touch ID in-app payments on attitude toward and usage intention of the technology, mediated by perceived risk and trust. The results (n = 406) revealed that perceived privacy, security, and convenience of Touch ID in-app payments directly or indirectly influenced consumer attitude toward the technology, also trust and perceived risk significantly mediated the effects of such factors on attitude, predicting usage intention. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications, particularly for the development and marketing of retailer’s in-app payments.