About five years ago, the outlook on the optical industry was looking good. In most cases, statistics showed market growth from 1997 to 1998: retail eyewear sales jumped 2.6%, from $15.4 to $15.8 billion; the average price for eyewear rose 7.4%; and sunwear units sold (sunglasses, etc.) rose 8.6%, from 290 million to 315 million. (Source: Optistock.com)

Let’s flash forward to the current day. The Vision Council of America tells us that the vision care market is expected to be strong for the rest of 2006.

Its “Consumer Barometer” reports $27.11 billion in revenue generated by the total US vision care industry during the twelve-month period ending March 2006. That’s a 5.4% increase compared to the previous year, and an 8.3% increase over two years ago.

The same VCA article also reports that more than 95.2 million eye exams were conducted during the 12-month period ending March 2005. This means that approximately 42.7% of the U.S. adult population received an eye exam during that year. That’s a “sizeable increase” over the number of exams administered during the previous year. The article also reports that 26.3% of the U.S. adult population has indicated that they will have an eye exam in April, May or June of 2006. Right now, in July of 2006, it’s a little too soon just yet to say for sure whether the amount of actual exams administered in those months measured up to those indications. However, that such a significant portion of the U.S. adult population intended to do so tells us one thing for sure: you’ve got quite a market waiting for your eyewear products.

Just to give you an idea, VCA’s 2006 Consumer Barometer tells us that 64.4% of the U.S. adult population, or 143.7 million people, reported wearing prescription eyeglasses. According to an article at eyeTopia, 32 million people in the United States (12% of the total population) wear contact lenses. (The article quotes Joseph Barr’s “Contact Lenses 2002: Annual Report” in the January 2003 issue of Contact Lens Spectrum.) A lot of people need corrective lenses out there. (Source: Eyetopics.com)

It’s particularly worth paying attention to the older end of the adult market spectrum. As human life expectancy increases, senior citizens make up an increasing percentage of the population—and, with few exceptions, visual impairment develops with the onset of age. Here’s the statistics as given by a February 2004 MarketWatch report at Optistock (Source: Optistock.com)

“As with other ophthalmic categories, the aging population contributes to an optimistic market outlook. The number of older Americans has increased more than tenfold since 1900, when 3 million people were age 65 or older (4% of the population). In 2000, an estimated 35 million Americans were age 65 or older, representing almost 13% of the total population.

By 2030 the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 20% of Americans will be 65 or older. Prevent Blindness estimates that the number of Americans with age-related eye diseases and the resulting vision impairment is expected to double within the next three decades.”

An extremely common form of visual impairment associated with aging is presbyopia, which is the loss of elasticity of the crystalline lens, causing one’s eyes to lose the ability to focus sharply on nearby objects. Most people typically develop presbyopia in their mid-forties. As a result, they become more and more dependent on reading glasses.

As with any prescription lenses, custom-made reading glasses can be acquired from one’s eye doctor, but ready-made reading glasses can also be purchased over the counter. Since a quick stop at the pharmacy is more convenient than scheduling an eye exam and then waiting for a custom order to be filled, a lot of people take advantage of the availability of OTC readers.

VCA’s 2006 Consumer Barometer reports that 13.8% of the U.S. adult population—that’s 30.8 million people—wear them. Whether this is a good or a bad thing in up for debate, it’s a happening, and you should keep it in mind when considering the fashion eyewear market.

Children represent another important segment of the market. Here are some statistics from a September 2001 article focusing on the needs of school-age kids. (Source: EyeCareBiz.com)

• From the National Parent Teacher Association: More than 10 million children suffer from visual problems.
• From PBA: Vision problems affect one in 20 preschoolers and one in four school-age children.
• From the AOA: Vision disorders are a common pediatric problem in the United States, with an estimate of nearly 25 percent of school-age children having vision problems.

A “Check Yearly See Clearly” press release from July of 2002 tells us that “More than 10 million children (one in four) in the United States will go back to school this fall with an undetected vision problem that can interfere with learning.” We hope to see this statistic drop as more parents recognize the need to get their children’s’ vision tested annually. Poor eyesight can lead to difficulties in school, which in turn can hamper a child’s education.

Meanwhile, don’t forget that portion of your market that has nothing to do with prescription lenses and visual impairment: sunglasses! Not only do they protect our eyes from harmful ultraviolet rays, they just plain look cool. According to that VCA Consumer Barometer article, plano (non-prescription) sunwear is regularly worn by 191 million people, or 85.6% of the U.S. adult population.

Sunglasses aren’t the only non-prescription use of eyewear as a fashion accessory. According to an article at All About Vision, “[n]early half of Americans would consider wearing eyeglasses as a fashion accessory, even if they didn’t need them. Most perceive eyeglass wearers as either smart (40%) or sophisticated (39%), and professionals associated with wearing eyeglasses include librarians (74%), teachers (71%), lawyers (56%), artists (27%) and actors/movie stars (20%).”

We’ve come a long way from the days when a kid wearing glasses would get called “four-eyes” or “nerd” on the playground. “Nerd” is barely even considered an insult anymore. It’s the information age, and that studious, bespectacled look is now 100% cool. (Source: AllaboutVision.com)

However, a note of caution is in order. Robert La Roche, who owns the eyewear design company Lunettes Robert La Roche, warns that although we’ve seen fantastic growth in the optical industry recently, he believes we may see dramatic changes in the next decade. (Source: 2020Mag.com)

“We can’t expect consumers to buy a wardrobe of frames at such high prices,” he says. “Optical needs to take its direction from the rest of the fashion industry. Look at stores like H&M [the low-priced Scandinavian clothing store]. They sell fashion at moderate prices. If eyewear were half as expensive, consumers probably wouldn’t buy twice as many frames, but at least they would buy more than one frame every four years, which is what a lot of Europeans do now.”

So if you can be the canny eyewear designer who comes up with a way to sell more quality for smaller price, now is a good time for you to prove it!