Vision Council report: In-person shopping continues to drive eye wear market
Key takeaways:
- Eleven percent of frames and spectacle lenses and 40% of contact lenses were purchased online in 2024.
- Increases were seen in total eye exams and plano sunglasses purchased.
ORLANDO — The latest data from The Vision Council’s Market inSights report indicate that the proportion of contact lenses and glasses purchased online vs. in retail locations has been stable, with the majority obtained in person.
“Overall, for the past 3 years, the online side of the market has remained steady,” Alysse Henkel, vice president of research and inSights at The Vision Council, told Healio at Vision Expo East. “For frames and lenses it’s about 11% online, and 40% of contact lenses purchases online. In-person [purchasing] is still the biggest part of the market.”
Henkel said the overall eye care market, which includes exams, frames, spectacle lenses, contact lenses, plano sunglasses and readers grew about 2.7% from 2023 to 2024, for a total market value of $68.3 billion.
“Plano sunglasses had a great year last year and helped boost the market,” she said. “Exams had a small increase. Other areas had a small decline.”
One area of decline was prescription eye wear, Henkel said.
“[This] is a part of a larger trend in the economy where we’re seeing people turn toward more budget products,” she said. “It depends on their disposable income. But over the last 2 years it’s been a consistent pattern. Consumers are telling us they’re spending less out of pocket on eye wear.”
Previously, 35% of respondents said they spent $200 or more on eye wear, with the same percentage saying they spent less than $100 out of pocket.
“Since then, those lines have shifted over time,” Henkel said. “The budget market has grown about 5%, and the luxury spending levels decreased at the same amount. We’ve also seen a slight decrease in frame value but an increase in units. People are still demanding the product but paying less.”
However, Henkel said there has been a slight increase in consumer spending levels.
“In the forecast, we’re anticipating stability year over year,” she said. “But what is not stable right now is the economic climate. So that forecast could change if more tariffs are affecting consumer spending.”
On the exam side, a 3% increase in the value of exams has occurred, spurred by consumer out-of-pocket spending and less managed care, Henkel said, with a 1% increase in volume.
“People were paying a little bit more for exams last year than the year before,” she said.
An additional function of this report was to accurately determine the number of optical retail locations, Henkel said.
“We did a ton of research to nail down that list,” she said. “And there is still a strong presence for independents in the market.”
Just under 44,000 optical locations were identified, and 23,000 of those are independent, Henkel said.
Reference:
- U.S. optical industry grows to $68.3 billion, according to The Vision Council’s new Market inSights report. https://thevisioncouncil.org/blog/us-optical-industry-grows-683-billion-according-vision-councils-new-market-insights-report. Published Jan. 23, 2025. Accessed Feb. 20, 2025.
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