A large majority of online eyewear shoppers in the US would purchase via a website again because of how convenient they found the experience.
Additionally, eye care was researched by US consumers who used the internet to find reviews of eye doctors and explore the possibilities of telehealth.
Findings from a survey of 3,102 US adults were published by the Vision Council, organisers of the Vision Expo events, in its Focused inSights 2022: Digital Habits report.
The survey was conducted in August and asked respondents how they use digital devices, if they had symptoms of digital eye strain, online purchasing habits, social media use and their experience of telehealth for eye care.
Alysse Henkel, senior director of market research and analytics at the Vision Council, said: ‘The survey results show that American adults spend a significant amount of time using digital devices, with 80% reporting some symptoms of digital eye strain.
‘Nearly all respondents had made an online purchase with convenience being the driving factor as to why they shop online. Two-thirds of American adults have purchased something online in the past week and when it comes to shopping online for eyewear, more than half of consumers have purchased eyewear online at least once. Furthermore, online eyewear shoppers are satisfied with their purchase, with 90% saying they would buy eyewear online again.’
Of the Vision Council’s respondents, 56% said they have made an online eyewear purchase and 35% of prescription spectacles wearers bought frames online at least once. Meanwhile, 53% of those who use non-prescription products have bought eyewear online.
Among those who have ever purchased eyewear online, 80% looked for reviews online and 61% of those said reviews influenced their selection.
Of respondents who most recently purchased eyewear online, 47% made their previous eyewear purchase in-person.
Wear and care researched
The report identified social media was used as a research tool by US consumers who planned to purchase eyewear, as well as researching eye doctors and eye exams.
Of the 40% who used social media for frame buying, the most common platforms used were YouTube (24%), Facebook (18%) and Instagram (13%).
Facebook and YouTube were used when researching eye doctors (both 17%) and information about eye exams (17% and 16%, respectively).
Among respondents who have ever had an eye exam, one-third used the internet to schedule their most recent eye exam, and 93% had a positive experience. The same percentage of respondents said they would schedule their next exam using the internet.
Prior to their most recent exam, 50% of patients searched for reviews of eye doctors and 62% of those patients indicated that reviews influenced their selection of an eye doctor.
The Vision Council found 31% of respondents were familiar with telehealth services for eye care but only 12% have used it.
Among those who have not used telehealth services for eye care, 50% were interested in using it in the future.
There was 80% who experienced at least one symptom of digital eye strain in the prior 30 days and of those, 75% experienced symptoms at least once per week.
Warby Parker expands physical retail presence
US eyewear retailer Warby Parker planned to reach 200 stores by the end of 2022 and wanted to open hundreds more over the next few years as the company experienced demand for in-store experiences.
The company, who started as an online-only eyewear retailer, told CNBC that it wanted to be as accessible and convenient as possible for customers.
Co-founder and CEO of Warby Parker, David Gilboa, said: ‘As we talk to our customers and ask them why they’re not shopping with Warby Parker, the dual highest responses are one, that there’s not a store near me, and the second is that I don’t have a current prescription.’
Warby Parker has also explored the potential of telehealth and recently created a virtual vision test that allowed customers to complete a vision exam and receive a prescription remotely in under 10 minutes.
Gilboa said that in 2019, 60% of the company’s transactions were taking place in-store before it went back to operating entirely online in 2020 because of the pandemic. However, since reopening, sales numbers were similar to those in 2019.