Key Note’s 2015 Ophthalmic Goods and Services market report identified that the proportion of spectacle-wearers willing to pay more for designer frames has increased from nearly 30 per cent in 2013 to almost 40 per cent in 2015.
Additionally it found that, of those who wore spectacles and/or contact lenses, nearly three quarters keep a spare pair of spectacles/contact lenses as a back up to the existing ones.
Nearly two-thirds said they would prefer spectacles over contact lenses due to practicality and costs, compared with a little more than a tenth who prefer contact lenses over spectacles because “they are more convenient and less obtrusive”.
The report highlights that the UK market for ophthalmic goods and services has enjoyed uninterrupted growth over the past five years, supported by an expanding and ageing population, and increased sales of spectacles and contact lenses.
Key Note predicts that the UK ophthalmic goods and services market will continue to grow over the next five years, rising by an estimated 2.5 per cent in 2015 and 2.4 per cent in 2016.
