Survey shows most optical products purchased in store
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NEW YORK — As more purchases are made online, a recent survey indicated that the majority of optical products are still bought in person, the Vision Council announced at Vision Expo East.
“Five out of every six prescription glasses purchases are still in person,” Alysse Henkel, vice president of research and insights at Vision Council, told Healio. “Optometrists are still super-relevant for these kinds of purchases.”
The Vision Council surveyed 121,288 U.S. adults between January 2022 and December 2023 to collect data for its Focused inSights 2024: Online vs. In-Person Purchase Patterns report.
According to a press release from the organization, 85% of prescription eyeglasses are bought in person, as are 79% of nonprescription reading glasses and 77% of nonprescription sunglasses.
Contact lenses are still most likely to be purchased in person; however, Henkel said the survey showed that a significant percentage — 37% — are acquired online.
“One of the surprising things we saw in the data was comparing online shoppers to in-person shoppers for glasses,” she said. “We used the net promoter score for how much someone is likely to recommend their retailer, and we see that those who bought glasses online are more likely to recommend their retailer than those who bought in person. Overall satisfaction was pretty high, with a net promoter score in the 50s, which is good, but we’re seeing a difference in glasses where there’s higher satisfaction for online purchases.”
She said the opposite was true for contact lenses.
“Those buying in person have higher satisfaction than those buying online,” Henkel said.
In addition, they were more likely to recommend the practice than those who purchased online, according to the report.
Half of those who bought glasses online said their next purchase would be in person.
“A lot of times they’ll spend their FSA or managed vision care in practice and then might go online for a second/back-up/fashion-conscious pair,” she said.
Henkel speculated on reasons consumers may shop online: more variety, choice among retailers, better selection or no sales pressure.
“We’re not sure,” she said. “We have no qualitative data about the ‘why.’”
Shoppers are spending less on luxury level products, although the volume of units sold remains constant, Henkel added.
“Potentially there are some trailing effects of inflation,” she said. “There is probably a bit of downward pressure on frame prices because of the ultra-budget online options we are seeing. Some of the frame companies told me they’re seeing manufacturers releasing budget lines when they haven’t had that before.”
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