SKIN 
 

March 2019     Volume 3  Issue 2 
 

Copyright 2018 The National Society for Cutaneous Medicine 148 

RISING DERM STARS® 
 

 
Impact of Consumer Preferences, Product Characteristics, and Unregulated 
Marketing Claims on Online Sunscreen Purchases 
 
Giselle Prado MD1, Ashley E Ederle BA, Shawhin RK Shahriari MD, MS, Ryan Svoboda MD, MS, 
Aaron Farberg MD, Darrell Rigel MD, MS 
 
1National Society for Cutaneous Medicine, New York, NY 
 

 
 
Background/Objectives: Sunscreens, 
unlike prescription medications are 
purchased by consumers directly from 
retailers. The proportion of online sunscreen 
sales is increasing. It is therefore important 
for dermatologists to know what factors 
influence online sunscreen purchases to 
optimize appropriate recommendations. 
 
Methods: This is a cohort study of publicly 
available data from “Amazon Best Sellers in 
Sunscreen” list. Variables collected included 
cost, formulation, product claims, ingredients, 
consumer ratings, and number of reviews. 
Ordinal logistic regression was used to 
analyze the impact of collected variables on 
position on the best-seller list. 
 
Results: 96 of the 100 search results could 
be defined as actual sunscreens with a total 
of 41,788 reviews. The median price per 
ounce was $3.02 (range $0.34-$309.18). The 
most popular formulations were lotions 
(68.8%), continuous sprays (17.7%), sticks 
(4.2%), and lip balm (4.2%). Sun protection 
factor (SPF) 50 (36.5%) and SPF 30 (28.1%) 
were the most purchased levels of sun 
protection. Inorganic and organic sunscreen 
agents were present in 41.7% and 75% of the 
top 100 selling sunscreen products, 
respectively. The most common claim was 
“non-greasy” found in 57.3% of sunscreens. 

For 26 product non-regulated claims 
analyzed, the mean number of claims per 
sunscreen was 5.2. Using an ordinal 
regression model, the following factors were 
found to significantly influence sunscreen 
sales: number of reviews, the claim prevents 
skin cancer and early aging, and the 
presence of 6 or more claims. 
 
Conclusion: Multiple sunscreen options 
exist for consumers with varying price points, 
active ingredients, and formulations. 
Consumers who purchase online prefer 
sunscreens with a higher number of reviews 
and more marketing claims. FDA regulated 
claims such as “prevents skin cancer and 
early aging,” do not appear as important in 
this purchasing cohort. To facilitate usage, 
dermatologists should be cognizant of factors 
that influence sunscreen selection among 
this group.