Eyewear in the US

COVID-19 impact on eyewear

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing a multitude of challenges for eyewear, including store and optometrist closures, economic constraints and shifting consumer needs, sales of all eyewear products, including contact lenses and solutions, spectacles and sunglasses, will drop sharply in 2020. Thanks to their essential nature, ease of replenishment through e-commerce and rising popularity in recent years, contact lenses and solutions will fare best among the main eyewear product categories, registering a significantly smaller decline in 2020 than more fashion-led eyewear products.

COVID-19 country impact

As early as 31 January US health officials issued quarantine orders to US citizens evacuated from Wuhan, China, amid the COVID-19 outbreak there. From 2 February, entry was restricted from China, with this later extended to virus-hit Iran and Italy.

Company response

Eyewear in the US is largely consolidated, with a limited number of global companies accounting for the majority of sales thanks to their large and diverse brand portfolios. In contact lenses, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc, Alcon Vision LLC and CooperVision Inc continued to account for around two thirds of total retail value sales in 2019, thanks to their brands’ strong recognition in the US market and the continued rapid growth of daily disposable contact lenses.

Retailing shift

Despite prolonged closures amid lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19, optical shops remained the leading sales channel for eyewear in 2020, accounting for more than half of retail value sales in the market. Although optical shops, when not closed, have had to operate with additional hygiene and distancing protocols throughout much of 2020, sales continued to be made in this store-based channel during the pandemic due to the necessity of taking a professional eye exam before purchasing many prescription eyewear products, as well as opticians’ ability to offer discounts on eyewear from leading brands – especially when purchased in multiple quantities.

What next for eyewear?

While all eyewear categories are expected to return to growth in 2021, so long as optical shops and other store-based retailers remain open and consumers regain lost confidence and purchasing power, the outlook for individual product categories within eyewear is largely tied to the product’s nature of being mainly a medical device or a fashion accessory, in line with consumer purchasing habits during the pandemic of prioritising essential purchases over discretionary ones. Given their medical benefit to consumers and the success of recent campaigns to promote contact lens use, contact lens sales are expected to return to 2019 levels by 2021 (in current value terms), with both daily disposable lenses and contact lens solutions recovering completely by then.

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