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The consumer confidence index, measuring the degree of optimism among consumers, suggests the general sentiment has not improved. At the time when the latest GDP figures were revealed, consumer confidence index dropped from -26 to -27 between March and April, showing the recovery in confidence has stalled.
Fragile confidence affecting spending activity is reflected in the durable markets tracked by GfK, including IT, consumer electronics, domestic appliances and others, where the value of all sectors combined has seen a decline against last year.
Amid that, optical products (as tracked by GfK) showed a stable performance with value sales up 0.2 per cent in Q1 2013, compared to the same period last year. Spectacle frames form the bulk of sales, although it was contact lenses that recorded uplift and brought the overall value of optical sales tracked by GfK to positive figures.
The market value for spectacle frames dropped slightly between Q1 2012 and Q1 2013, which represented a decrease of 0.2 per cent. The value of sunglasses in opticians also remained fairly stable on last year, seeing just a small decline of 0.5 per cent. This is a remarkable performance, given that department stores/sunglass specialists experienced a decline in the same period.
Let us not forget, however, we are looking at the first quarter of the year, which is not traditionally key to sales of sunglasses. More important will be to see how the trend develops in the summer months. Saying that, first predictions for the season are not very positive, suggesting we could be in for another cool and wet summer. If the predictions come true, this will certainly have a negative impact on sales of sunglasses. Unlike spectacle frames and sunglasses, contact lenses and lens care products have achieved growth on last year. Contact lenses in Q1 2013 recorded a 1.1 per cent uplift on last year. The associated contact lens care products have followed this trend with a smaller increase of 0.6 per cent.
Reusable contact lenses have continued to see a decline. There are parts of the reusable segment that recorded growth. Reusable torics are up 2.8 per cent and reusable multifocals up 14.5 per cent, when comparing value in Q1 2012 and 2013. These, however, have been offset by the continued decline of reusable sphericals. While it is still a sizeable segment in the contact lens market, in Q1 2013 it has seen its value slashed by £1.3m compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, daily lenses have been enjoying growth across all different lens types including spherical, toric and multifocal. Sales of the three combined have increased by almost £2.2m in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period last year.
Increasing importance of daily disposable lenses has also been highlighted by the fact they have now become part of the basket of goods to measure cost of living. New items added to the inflation basket are reflecting changing spending habits and lifestyles in Britain.
Daily disposable lenses already have prevalence in the spherical segment (62 per cent) and are well established in the toric segment (36 per cent, value share, Q1 2013). In addition, they are now also gaining weight in the multifocal segment, which has almost exclusively been dominated by monthly lenses until recently. With more products now available in the multifocal market than ever before, the segment is quickly gaining momentum, especially in the past few months.
People affected by presbyopia are becoming an increasingly important target group for the contact lens market and multifocal lenses will undoubtedly have more of a role to play in the future.
Data quoted covers mainland GB opticians only (chemists and supermarkets also included for contact lens care products) ?