Eyewear in the United Kingdom

COVID-19 impact on eyewear

The outbreak of COVID-19 is expected to lead to a reduction in eyewear value and volume sales in 2020 overall, as the UK government implemented necessary quarantines and social distancing measures to contain the pandemic in March. The decline for the year as a whole is mainly due to the forced closure of optical shops during the lockdown period, which resulted in a complete end to in-store sales, albeit temporarily.

COVID-19 country impact

On 16 March, large gatherings in the UK were banned, and the Prime Minister called on everyone in the country to stop all non-essential contact with other people. People were required to cease all unnecessary travel and to work from home where possible, while avoiding pubs, clubs, theatres and other social spaces.

Company response

The UK eyewear market remains concentrated in the hands of private label operators such as Specsavers Optical Group Ltd, Vision Express (UK) Ltd and Boots Opticians Ltd, all of which operate high-street retail outlets and sell their own brands through these, as well as branded companies, Luxottica Group UK Ltd and Essilor UK Ltd. The former is responsible for a range of premium brands, including Ray-Ban, Emporio Armani, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry sunglasses and spectacles, while the latter produces Crizal and Varilux spectacle lenses.

Retailing shift

In terms of distribution of eyewear, e-commerce has seen an unprecedented rise in sales of eyewear since March 2020 and is expected to see a dramatic increase in value share during 2020 overall due to optical shop closures. Online stores were the only places able to sell eyewear during Q2 2020, which meant that those consumers that needed to buy spectacles, contact lenses and solutions and/or sunglasses turned to e-commerce as their only option.

What next for eyewear?

The UK eyewear industry is expected to start to record volume growth again in 2021 and then throughout the forecast period assuming that the pandemic is contained in the second half of 2020, with spectacles and contact lenses benefiting from the increasing rate of myopia in the UK. Additionally, eyewear products – especially corrective spectacles – are considered a necessity by most wearers, so consumers will need to buy them, albeit opting for cheaper brands in order to save money.

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