The Vision Council Releases Market Research Reports

Alexandria, VA – The Vision Council has released its quarterly VisionWatch market research reports for Q3 2021. The reports indicate that $46.45 billion worth of eyewear was purchased during the 12-month period ending September 2021, representing a 24.0 percent increase over the 12-month period ending September 2020 and 6.3 percent increase over the 12-month period ending September 2019. 

Designed exclusively for the vision care industry, the VisionWatch research reports are released on a quarterly basis and survey trends in consumer behavior regarding eye exams and eyewear, analyze developments in the U.S. eyecare market, and provide key market and product category statistics. 

“The third quarter of 2021 was one of the strongest quarters we have seen in recent memory with over $12.27 billion in U.S. optical market sales generated on an individual quarter basis. This represents an increase of 15.8 percent compared to a relatively strong Q3 2020 as the market rebounded from a difficult first half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, Q3 2021 sales were up 4.7 percent over Q3 2019,” said Steve Kodey, Senior Director of Industry Research at The Vision Council. “Unit sales of eyewear were up 14.2 percent over Q3 2020 levels and up 1.5 percent over Q3 2019 levels. This rise appears to be primarily attributable to the increasing number of eyewear users in the market, specifically Rx sun and contact lens wearers, as well as an increase in multiple pair purchases. In addition, there was an increase in eyewear purchase frequency among existing eyewear users who had previously bought eyewear two to five years ago.” 

The accelerated shift to online eyewear sales prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be evident in the VisionWatch results. Notable findings about online sales that occurred during the 12-month period ending September 2021 include the online sales of all eyewear increased by 26.3 percent during the 12-month ending period September 2021—generating $4.00 billion in revenue during that time. The online sales of eyeglass frames and lenses increased by 42.8 and 34.6 percent, respectively, during the 12-month period ending September 2021. This totaled $830 million in revenue for frames and $1.1 billion in revenue for lenses. And the online eyeglasses unit pair sales, frames and lenses combined, increased by 34.0 percent during the 12-month ending period September 2021. 

The Vision Council also gauges the overall level of Managed Vision Care (MVC) coverage among the U.S. adult population to better understand the evolving MVC landscape. MVC highlights featured in the Q3 results include 126.9 million U.S. adults, or 48.6 percent of the U.S. adult population, had some type of MVC coverage by September 2021, representing an increase of 0.9 percent or approximately 1.17 million more covered lives compared to September 2020. The increase in MVC coverage among the U.S. adult population has mirrored the increase in MVC utilization for eye exam and eyewear transactions over the past year. MVC benefits were used in 75.7 percent of all adult eye exams and 60.9 percent of all frames purchases during the 12-month ending period September 2021, including full and partial MVC coverage. This represents an increase in MVC utilization for both eye exams and eyewear transactions compared with the 12-month ending period September 2020. 

For more information on The Vision Council’s VisionWatch reports, and for member access to the Q3 2021 reports, visit The Vision Council’s Research Download Center by clicking here.