High street optical practices will need to give the public stronger reasons to enter its premises in the future, a £100,000 Foresight Project by optical bodies underlined this week.
Communication technology such as app-based disease monitoring was expected to further empower patients about their health.
Optical retailers would also need to adapt to growth within e-commerce, 3D printing and online refraction, while niche future opportunities might include contact lenses to stem myopia progression and gaming technology for amblyopia correction.
Alan Tinger (pictured right), chairman of the Foresight Project, said: ‘This report is only the start. It can only move from being a document of interest to be of serious benefit if it is widely read and debated by all parts of the sector including educators, regulators and beyond with a view to the future. What it will lead to is for readers and debaters to work on - knowledge is power.’
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