Paper Details

Name: Kriti Aggarwal & Tejinderpal Singh
Country: India

Year: 2025
Volume: Volume-12, Issue-2 (July-December)
Page Number: 34-47
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17181464

ABSTRACT
The exponential growth of digital platforms has reshaped consumer decision-making
processes by providing interactive and participatory experiences. Among various forms of
user-generated content (UGC), unboxing videos have become a distinct phenomenon that
integrates informational and hedonic appeals to influence consumer attitudes and behaviors.
Unlike traditional advertising that relies on persuasive intent, unboxing videos combine
product demonstration with personal storytelling, creating authenticity and trust (Kim, 2020;
Mowlabocus, 2020). Rooted in the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) framework, this study
investigates how two core motivations—information seeking and entertainment predict
parasocial interaction (PSI) with unboxers, and how PSI, in turn, influences product interest
and purchase intention.
Data were collected through a structured survey of 431 sample size of Indian consumers
across six smart cities from Indian states of Panjab, Haryana and Union Territory
Chandigarh. Respondents were screened to ensure active engagement with unboxing videos
across social media platforms. The dataset was analyzed using Partial Least Squares
Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), following the two-step approach recommended by
Anderson and Gerbing (1988) and Hair, Hult, Ringle, and Sarstedt (2017). The results
revealed that both information seeking and entertainment significantly enhanced PSI, which
positively predicted product interest and purchase intention. Moreover, product interest
emerged as the strongest determinant of purchase intention, explaining over half of its
variance.
The findings enrich U&G literature by extending it into the context of unboxing videos and
demonstrate the dual role of unboxing content as an informational and relational medium.
Practically, the study offers strategic implications for brands and influencers to leverage
unboxing collaborations as credible, engaging, and persuasive tools for consumer
engagement.
Keywords: Unboxing videos, Uses and Gratifications, Parasocial Interaction, Product
Interest, Purchase Intention, PLS-SEM