Objective Facts or Misleading Hype? Associations between Features of E-Cigarette Marketing and Sales on a Chinese E-Commerce Platform

Yibei Chen, Shaojing Sun, Xiaoquan Zhao, Han Zhou and Fan Wang
Additional contact information
Yibei Chen: Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
Shaojing Sun: School of Journalism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Xiaoquan Zhao: Department of Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Han Zhou: School of Journalism, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Fan Wang: Department of Politics, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-12

Abstract: Background : Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been increasingly advertised and marketed in China in recent years. This study examined the practice and impact of e-cigarette online marketing on a major retail website—Tmall.com. Methods : Data were obtained by crawling 449 online pages of e-cigarette marketing. Content analysis was conducted to summarize the marketing practices for four types of e-cigarettes, and multilevel modeling (MLM) was implemented to explore factors predictive of the online sales of the products. Results : The sales volume of e-cigarettes ranged from 0 to 28,169, with the price per item varying from RMB 218.1 ($31.84) to RMB 385.5 ($56.29). Fruit (44.3%, n = 199), mint (33%, n = 148) and cream/sugar/ice (29.4%, n = 132) were the three flavors most often listed for sale online. Moreover, 63.4% ( n = 285) of e-cigarette ads emphasized the role of the products as an aid to quit smoking. Nice taste (75.1%), big vapor (65.7%), high capacity batteries (67.9%), fashionable models (61.3%), discounted price (49.7%), and suitability for gifting (45.9%) were the most frequently touted product features in online ads. Type of e-cigarettes, diversity of products, number of online comments, and location of manufacturers were significantly associated with sales volume. Conclusions : Online marketing of e-cigarettes was common on one of China’s leading e-commerce websites. Sellers employed advertising strategies targeting a wide range of potential consumers—from youth to the elderly. Stricter regulations of online marketing for e-cigarettes should be enforced in China.

Keywords: electronic cigarettes; online marketing; content analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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