By Jennifer Zupnick

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SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

SOURCE: 20/20’s 2013 SUNWEAR SURVEY OF INDEPENDENTS

 



From top: SCOTT HARRIS SUN 16 from Europa International; BEBE Imagine from Altair Eyewear; NICOLE MILLER Tudor from L’Amy America; KAROLINA X from Sama; TAKUMI 944 from Aspex Eyewear
What better place than the subject of sunwear for some detailed and powerful forecasting concerning the climate of this highly regarded consumer commodity in the optical arena. Here is a look at the sunwear retail and dispensing market based on a recent study 20/20 commissioned from Jobson Optical Research. In this particular outreach, 229 independent optical retailers were surveyed on sunwear sales at their location.

  • A total of 69 percent of the respondents said that Rx sunwear is growing for their practice. Adults (ages 35 to 44) accounted for the largest percent of Rx sunwear sales (an average of 32 percent) according to those independents surveyed. Half of our respondents said females are buying more Rx sunwear than males, while 18 percent said more males did the buying. Note also that 32 percent felt buying was the same for both genders.
  • Of the independents surveyed, 59 percent said consumers are more knowledgeable about sunwear than they were five years ago.
  • More respondents agreed with the statement that they feel the lines between fashion-oriented sunwear and sport-oriented sunwear are blurring compared to the number that disagreed with 52 percent agreeing and 35 percent disagreeing. Of the 52 percent who agreed that the lines were blurring, 57 percent think this is helping the sales of both Rx and plano sunglasses. Only 6 percent claim the merging is hurting their sunwear sales.
  • Just over half (52 percent) of independents surveyed said they always recommend that their contact lens patients buy sunglasses. However, respondents said only 16 percent of their patients on average actually make a sunwear purchase at the time they are fitted for new contacts.
  • On average, respondents said 59 percent of total retail sunwear comes from Rx complete packages, 28 percent from plano complete, 9 percent from clip-ons and 4 percent from fit-overs.
  • Independents ranked frames/lens knowledge (30 percent) as the top greatest differentiating quality independents offer over other channels. Superior service (28 percent) was the second greatest differentiating quality with product customization capabilities (26 percent) placing third. Price was fourth with 14 percent.
  • On average, independents said polycarbonate lenses made up 49 percent of their total prescription sun lens sales and 45 percent of plano sunwear lens sales. Plastic/high-index plastic lenses made up 46 percent of total prescription sun lens sales and 49 percent of plano sunwear lens sales.

METHODOLOGY

This study was conducted in December 2013 by Jobson Optical Research. All participants were contacted via e-mail invitation and offered an incentive of a chance to win a $200 Amazon.com gift card. Only independent optical retailers were qualified to take the survey. 229 qualified respondents completed the study. Similar studies were conducted in previous years, and trends are shown wherever possible. For more information, contact [email protected].