The future of eyewear

It’s an exciting time for the eyewear sector, but with this excitement comes an undercurrent of uncertainty. New manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing bring more design possibilities than ever before, but will eyewear brands lose out with the increase in consumer-level 3D printing? Smart eyewear has entered the market with much fanfare but has made little impact – is it going to have a second coming?

Optician posed an expert panel simple question: ‘What factors will influence the eyewear sector during the next decade?’

Jason Kirk

Managing director of Kirk and Kirk Eyewear

The next decade will be dominated by opportunity. Commerce is changing at a phenomenal rate and optics needs to keep up with the pace. The optician is competing with a worldwide market. It is not just the other practice further down the street, it is also online retailers and discounters.Most opticians are not in a position to compete on price, so they compete on ‘service’ or ‘product,’ but it is a tough job convincing the public that it is worth spending money on something that they do not really understand and in some cases don’t trust.Within a decade, technology will allow significant progress in what the public see as a ‘satisfactory’ eye test online. There are already vision tests and it is easy to fill a prescription online so the first answer to this challenge needs to be to educate the public through good communication. Allow them to truly understand the quality of the medical and professional service available to them so that they can make an informed decision.There is already a vast array of frames in practices and online. 3D manufacturing will raise the bar and the quality of frames being produced in Europe and Asia is increasing all the time.