Decline in US market

Data collected by the Vision Council in the US has revealed a 17.4% decline in vision care market revenues worth an estimated $36bn, following the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysing consumer trends and sector performance between December 2019 to December 2020, the VisionWatch report estimated that nearly 15% of the adult population had limited their eye health and eyewear purchasing for economic and health reasons.

Despite general population increases meaning an estimated 600,000 additional people would need some form of vision correction during the 12-month period, the report showed that vision correction usage had not kept pace with the growth.

Online sales also increased, with approximately 9.1m pairs spectacles sold – a year on year increase of 22%.