The importance of interactivity in increasing engagement with native advertising

Abstract Native advertising has emerged as a powerful tool for engaging consumers by seamlessly integrating with their online experience. While previous research has shown positive effects of interactivity on consumer response in websites, its impact on branded/native content remains unexplored. Our experiment with 552 participants reveals that interactivity’s influence on attitudes and consumption duration is mediated by pleasure, with arousal exhibiting an inverted U-shaped influence on attitude. Notably, perceived dominance was negatively associated with consumption time. These findings suggest that emotions elicited by interactivity may not always yield positive outcomes. Additionally, individuals with higher optimum stimulation levels reported enhanced arousal and dominance responses to interactivity. This study provides valuable insights for researchers and practitioners, advancing our understanding of native advertising effectiveness.