Exam figures show room for improvement

Almost half of all adults have had an eye test in the past year, according to Mintel's latest research, yet one in five rarely or never have their eyes tested.

The under-35 spectacle wearers are less frequent visitors for eye exams than over-65s, and they are most likely to just use one kind of vision correction, while over-65s are more likely to use two or more.

Of 1,011 adults aged over 15 years, 9 per cent have never had an eye exam, 10 per cent said it was more than five years ago and 14 per cent 2-5 years ago. 'The profession has more ground to make up if it is to encourage everyone to have regular eye exams,' said Mintel.