Table of Contents
Introduction
Since 2020, when global lockdowns forced most industries to adopt remote measures, the eyewear sector digitalized. So much so, in fact, that in that year alone, online eyewear sales saw a drastic jump of over 17%. Alongside this, upwards of 14% of all eyewear sales were conducted online. As a whole, the eyewear ecommerce landscape saw a 25% year-on-year segment growth within the span of a single year.
More recently, the online eyewear market has reported significant revenue, which is indicative of its successful expansion. As of 2023, the US alone saw total revenue exceed $1.5 billion. Much of this has been attributed to numerous factors, which we’ll touch on more below.
Key Factors for Growth
Emerging Technologies
The rise of e-commerce has come with the need for new technologies that can offer much of the same assistance as brick-and-mortar stores. Among these, the most successfully rolled out in the online eyewear market have to do with allowing customers to make more informed retail choices. One such form of this is customized product recommendation tech, like the best glasses for face shape tool on retailer LensCrafters. With this cutting-edge tool, the consumer’s face is scanned for things like pupillary distance, face length and width, hair color, eye color, and even eyebrow thickness. This then makes tailored eyewear recommendations in line with a person’s unique face shape and color analysis.
Similarly, eyecare providers such as Walmart Optical are embracing virtual try-on apps. Using AR tech, these dedicated apps can digitally overlay up to 750 eyewear models onto a consumer’s face. Since this is done to scale and with true color representation, it allows users to see precisely how specific specs or shades will look on them from different angles. All in all, these technologies have helped build confidence in online eyewear transactions.
Demand for Healthcare
The healthcare segment for corrective vision has also seen significant development in the last decade, and it will continue to increase rapidly in the next. The overall vision care market is forecasted to hit $113.8 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 5% from 2023. Not only are there more individuals suffering from chronic conditions that impact eye health, but increasingly, digital habits have also heightened the manifestation of visual impairment in various demographics. Older people are expected to hit the vision care market in full force as they start developing age-related vision conditions. Still, younger people are also starting to get symptoms of visual challenges earlier and with more prevalence.
A lack of proper health management and good lifestyle practices will also be factors in the increasing need for eyewear-based interventions. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that more than 2.2 billion people worldwide are suffering from vision impairment due to insufficient care. Because many problems are left untreated, the risk for nearsightedness, farsightedness, glaucoma, and cataracts is higher than it has ever been. In turn, the eyewear market will respond to demand with products and eye care services through digital platforms.
Increasing Eyewear Provider Options
The supply of eyewear is also diversifying, essentially creating more subcategories to cater to specific consumers. As modern customers value unique and personalized features in online goods, new players in the eyewear market will drive even more demand and development. Relatively newer names like Gentle Monster and Warby Parker have also driven much of the shift to online marketplaces as they lean into customizability campaigns that have made the rounds on social media.
Expansion has also come from collaboration with major industry leaders to create new entries in the market. As Ray-Ban goes beyond sunglasses to dip into prescriptive vision, it has also partnered with tech giant Meta to create smart glasses. This intersection between eyewear and wearable smart technology is an inevitable step forward that will only serve to increase the global market’s hold, with Meta already in talks to buy a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica as the latter’s shares jump up in market analysis.
