Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Mar 28, 2025
Date Accepted: Jul 31, 2025
Online E-cigarette Retailers Use Price Incentives and Product Features to Attract Adolescent and Young Adult Purchases: A Choice-Based Experiment
ABSTRACT
Background:
An increasing number of adolescents and young adults report purchasing e-cigarettes from e-cigarette retailer websites. However, consumer research on e-cigarette retailer websites’ content influencing adolescent and young adult e-cigarette purchases is lacking.
Objective:
To examine whether seeing specific characteristics on e-cigarette retailer websites encourage or discourage e-cigarette purchase by adolescents and young adults and to further assess whether such influences vary by age and e-cigarette use.
Methods:
Using a web-based survey we conducted a cross-sectional choice-based experiment in 5,326 individuals ages 13-24 years. We examined associations between e-cigarette retailer websites' content, reflected in 18 keywords, and likelihood of e-cigarette purchase.
Results:
Adolescent and young adult females and sexual minorities (non-heterosexual) were more likely to purchase e-cigarettes if websites had a clearance/sale, (females: (aOR = 1.19, 95%CI 1.04-1.35; P=0.02); sexual minorities: (aOR = 1.48, 95%CI 1.21-1.82; P<0.01)), deals (sexual minorities: aOR = 1.28, 95%CI 1.04-1.57, P=0.02), direct discounts (females: aOR = 1.26, 95%CI 1.09-1.45, P<0.01; sexual minorities: 1.29, 95%CI 1.03-1.61, P=0.03), one could shop by flavor (females: aOR = 1.49, 95%CI 1.30-1.71, P<0.01), or if they saw new and trending products (females: aOR = 1.18, 95%CI 1.03-1.34, P=0.03). Females were less likely to purchase e-cigarettes if required to register/sign-in (aOR = 0.66, 95%CI 0.58-0.76, P<0.01), or upload an ID (aOR = 0.84, 95%CI 0.74-0.96, P=0.02), and similarly sexual minorities were less likely to purchase e-cigarettes if required to register/sign-in (aOR = 0.77, 95%CI 0.63-0.96; P=.02). Older participants were more likely to purchase from authorized dealers (aOR = 1.06, 95%CI 1.03-1.08; P<.01) if required to enter an email (aOR = 1.03, 95%CI 1.01-1.06; P=.01) or a photo ID (aOR = 1.11, 95%CI 1.08-1.13, P<0.01), but less likely to purchase based on seeing new and trending products (aOR = 0.94, 95%CI 0.92-0.96, P<0.01) or vape guides/blogs (aOR = 0.97, 95%CI 0.95-0.99, P=0.04). Participants who had never used e-cigarettes, were more susceptible to purchasing if they saw a starter-kit (aOR = 1.27, 95%CI 1.07-1.51, P=0.01), new and trending products (aOR = 1.28, 95%CI 1.08-1.52, P<0.01) or could shop by flavor (aOR = 1.67, 95%CI 1.39-2.00, P<0.01).
Conclusions:
Adolescents and young adults are attracted to several aspects of e-cigarette retailer website content. Tailored prevention education about price incentives, flavors, and starter-kits to vulnerable groups at risk of purchase and effective age verification could discourage e-cigarette online purchases. Clinical Trial: None.
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