Over 44% of adults who bought frames in 2020 used the internet to assist in their purchase of prescription spectacles, which has increased from 22% in 2017.
A survey of 4,909 adult consumers in the US conducted by the Vision Council examined the role of the internet among people who had recently purchased eyewear.
The Vision Council found that 14% of spectacles buyers went online to directly purchase frames, with around 30% using the internet to compare prices, find the type or style of they wanted to buy or find the practice or retailer they bought from in-person later.
It also explored the role of “window shopping” online before an in-person purchase was made a at a bricks and mortar retail, including eye care providers and eyewear retailers.
Steve Kodey, senior director of industry research at the Vision Council, said: ‘Even before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vision Council’s research indicated that US eyewear consumers were migrating to the internet to make eyewear purchases. The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have accelerated that movement.’
