Western Europe

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

Demand for sunglasses has continued to recover from the impact of COVID-19 in 2023, seeing positive growth following a decline in 2022. Normalisation in travel patterns to sunny climates is a main drive of sales, while travel was impacted by…

Demand for sunglasses declined in 2022, which can be attributed to a variety of factors including low consumer confidence and a reluctance to make fashion purchases during times of crisis and high inflation – despite the return of holiday trips to…

Spectacles posted growth in 2023, following a fluctuating performance. Growth somewhat benefited from COVID-19, with home seclusion boosting wear initially. However, sales suffered from purchases being postponed during store closures and customers…

The eyewear industry has experienced significant challenges in recent years due to the global pandemic and economic uncertainty. Spectacles, which comprise a significant portion of the industry in Germany, have not been immune to these challenges.…

Eyewear recorded a positive and significant uplift in retail volume and value growth in 2023, following the deep declines seen in previous years due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Spectacles remained the largest category in eyewear in 2023, with…

Eyewear in Germany experienced a significant decline in 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent home seclusion, but the industry has been in recovery mode since 2021, despite a marginal decline in volume sales in 2022. Therefore, a full return to…

Some consumers are switching back to contact lenses after wearing spectacles during the outbreak of COVID-19. Daily disposables are becoming more popular for occasional use, while monthly and 6-month lenses are still the most popular for everyday…

Contact lenses in Germany have faced supply chain issues in recent years triggered by the pandemic, leading to a notable decline in volume sales in 2020, and a marginal drop in 2022. However, the category has strongly rebounded in 2023 in line with…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

In the upcoming years, consumers and businesses face an array of challenges, with income inequality, mass migration and rising uncertainty about another crisis being among the major ones. Nevertheless, within this lie untapped opportunities. This…

Sunglasses in the UK recorded a strong decline in value sales in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sunglasses were the most-impacted category in eyewear in the UK during 2020 due the lack of social occasions, travel and mobility restrictions…

Spectacles will be continuing to record positive current value and volume growth in 2023 as the UK continues to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the full reopening of optical goods stores and increased demand from consumers who have returned…

Eyewear is expected to continue recording positive current value growth in the UK in 2023, albeit at a slightly slower rate than in the two previous years. Following the decline seen in 2020, sales had already returned to pre-pandemic levels in…

Contact lenses is expected to continue recording positive current value growth in the UK in 2023. After the decline seen in 2020, linked to the COVID-19 restrictions put in place when the pandemic first arrived in the country, contact lenses saw the…

Sunglasses is the winner in eyewear in Spain in 2023, seeing higher value sales than either spectacles or contact lenses. This is attributed to the reopening of society following the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside the resumption of…

In a cross-category trend, the ongoing socioeconomic uncertainty is limiting potential sales in spectacles. Furthermore, global inflationary pressures have led to skyrocketing inflation which is resulting in higher unit prices. Added to which, supply…

Eyewear in Spain is returning to pre-pandemic patterns in 2023. The end of all COVID-19 related restrictions in the country has resulted in Spanish consumers re-embracing their out-of-home lifestyles, returning to the office and, once again, taking…

The ongoing, uncertain socioeconomic context continues to dampen potential sales. In contact lenses and solutions, consumers are seeking ways to make their limited budgets go further and this is translating as consumers wearing and using their…

The economic uncertainty in the country results in consumers showing a more conservative and reluctant approach, and this is Impacting spending behaviour in sunglasses. Turkish consumers are trying to save money and are actively choosing to limit the…