The purpose of the paper is to study the role of expert and influencer consultancy in the online shopping environment and its effect on purchasing intent, highlighting consumer behaviour governance by emotion or rationality. A cross-national data set of 788 respondents from 59 countries is analysed with a structural equations model showing that the influencers' influence alone does not increase purchasing intent, but the mediator of expert advice does. The implication from this is clear: consumers in the online environment want multiple sources of information, particularly from people they like/follow, known as influencers, and those who give expert advice. Building trust in a virtual environment such as the Internet may be challenging, but the use of influencers and experts to guide customers can be a working strategy for marketing managers.