Eyewear retailer

An eyewear retailer or eyewear store is a retail businesses selling eyewear and often providing optometry services.[1] Eyewear retailers may sell any number of different products, including sunglasses, spectacles, contact lenses, sports eyewear, and safety and protection eyewear.[2]

The sector is driven by the rising global population, economic development, increased consumer purchasing power, and the global prevalence of ocular diseases.[2] The increased use of digital screens has led to an increase in vision impairment, cataracts, myopia, hypermetropia, eye irritation, dry eyes, computer vision syndrome and double vision.[1][2]

Sunglasses make up 42% of the global eyewear market as of 2020. They protect the eyes from sun damage and conjunctivitis, but are also sold as fashion accessories, with many consumers opting to have a number of sunglasses for different occasions.[2]

Contact lenses are the fastest-growing product segment. They offer a natural field of view, no frames, reduced distortion, and no fog or glare.[2]

Many eyewear retailers are owned by EssilorLuxottica, including Clearly.ca/Coastal.com, Eyebuydirect, FramesDirect.com, LensCrafters, OPSM, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Sunglass Hut, Target Optical and Vision Source.[3] The company's market dominance featured in an episode of Tru TV program Adam Ruins Everything.[4]