Opticians must react to the growing trend for online purchasing, warns a report by research company Mintel.
Opticians must react to the growing trend for online purchasing, warns a report by research company Mintel.
According to the report released this month, two in five internet users visit websites to compare prices and product features before buying online.Senior retail analyst at Mintel and author of the report, Neil Mason, commented: 'This can only lead to lower prices and retailers becoming less able to exploit ignorance among buyers. Certainly for the bigger players in the optical world this presents a strong case for selling products online and making the most of price comparisons.'
Specsavers Opticians joined the increasing number of companies to offer online and direct-mail contact lenses to all optical patients in 2001 and in August last year controversial entrepreneur James Murray Wells launched Glasses Direct offering spectacles at a fraction of the price of those sold by high street practices.
'Such pricing mechanisms suggest that the internet is at the forefront of a drive towards "perfect information",' Mason added, 'where all prices are transparent and consumers simply choose the cheapest option available to them.'