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…

The landscape for spectacles is set to see positive retail value growth in 2023. This is not only driven by the growing demand for spectacle frames and spectacle lenses by consumers as their working and social lives return to normal following the…

With travel starting to normalise across the world, sales of eyewear continue to rise in 2023, with tourist numbers increasing in Turkey, especially from Germany, France and England. Tourists are boosting retail value and volume sales, as many…

In 2023, contact lenses will continue to see strong retail value growth, boosted by rising price points, while retail volume growth rates remain positive as consumers resume a higher level of use following the pandemic. During the lockdown periods of…

Sunglasses declined in 2020, when COVID-19 led to less socialising, home seclusion and a lack of travelling. However, sales increased significantly in 2021 due to pent-up demand, the shift from services to goods, and the return of international…

Spectacles experienced a decline in 2020 as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 and home seclusion. However, the landscape saw positive growth in 2021, with pent-up demand and reduced spending on services resulting in many updating their spectacles.…

Eyewear continues to display a strong performance in 2023, following the modest decline recorded in 2020 during the outbreak of COVID-19. In 2021, eyewear registered strong growth due to pent-up demand, consumers' savings during the pandemic (with…

Contact lenses and contact lenses solutions remained flat during 2022 and 2023. The essential nature of contact lenses meant that volume sales remained stagnant for both years, following a relatively modest decline during COVID-19 in 2020. The modest…

After a very positive 2022 during which saw sunglasses recorded double-digit growth in value and volume terms, 2023 is set to be a more complex year for the category. The dynamic growth seen in 2022 was linked to the category’s ongoing recovery after…

In contrast to the highly impressive performance in 2022, sunglasses in France is set to see less impressive though still-solid volume and current value sales growth throughout 2023. The anticipated heatwave – typically a boon for sunglasses sales,…

Sales of spectacles are set to see only moderate growth in current value terms in 2023, with growth being curbed by the low purchasing power of many Italians. Due to the impact of high inflation on the cost of living many people are being forced to…

Despite administrative complexities, sales of spectacles in France are set to maintain steady growth in both volume and current value terms throughout 2023, although this is likely to vary across different regions and types of opticians –…

Italian eyewear is projected to record single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023. Eyewear saw a quick recovery after the decline seen in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Value sales returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2021 with this being…

Eyewear in France will not see witness growth as robust as it enjoyed in 2022. This is in large part due to the fact that consumers do not typically indulge in annual purchases of new sunglasses or prescription glasses. Nonetheless, there persists a…

Contact lenses is set to deliver single-digit growth in current value terms in 2023, with it expected to be the most dynamic category within eyewear. After the decline seen in 2020, which was linked to the arrival of the COVID-19 health emergency,…

The contact lenses market in France has seen a resurgence in recent years. After a period of volume and current value declines in 2020, the content lenses and solutions overall has bounced back significantly. This resurgence can be attributed to…

Sunglasses performed well in 2022, with growth driven by the opening of foodservice, the return of holidays and the general good weather in The Netherlands in the year. With over 2.233 hours of sunshine in 2022, the country experienced a record year,…

Spectacles is a significant category in the Netherlands as over 50% of Dutch adults wear spectacles due to digital lifestyles and extensive screen exposure, and an ageing population. Manufacturers are addressing vision problems resulting from…

The Dutch eyewear market continues to grow as a result of an expansion of the consumer base due to extended screen exposure, which is causing an increasing number of eyesight related problems amongst the population. While the market is large as at…

The contact lenses market continues to grow in The Netherlands, driven by an expansion of the consumer base. A steep rise in vision problems due to extended screen exposure are generating more demand for eyewear, with contact lenses proving more…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. In 2023, global inflation is expected to ease from its peak in 2022, but remaining significantly above-trend. Geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market are…

Now in its seventh edition, this report explores the top digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this edition touch on topics such as second-hand shopping, community group buying,…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries. Global inflation is reaching a peak, although geopolitical risks and uncertainty in the energy market remain key risks. The impact varies between countries, with…

The briefing introduces the Cities Households Necessities Spending Index. The index ranks 1,075 cities by household expenditure on non-discretionary items, namely food, housing, and clothing and footwear. This analysis focuses on 160 major cities.…

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has triggered the most severe global recession in nearly a century. Businesses are operating in a world of anxieties and uncertainties, not knowing what will be the new normal or when output and consumer spending…