The new year is starting on a high note for the vision care market. The just-released VisionWatch market research report for Q3 2019 reveals a full 2.4% overall growth year over year with $43.39 billion in retail revenues, signaling a strong upward sales trend.
 
“The results of the Q3 reports indicate that [2019] has been a year of robust growth for the overall vision care market,” says Steve Kodey, senior director of industry at The Vision Council.
 
Independent eyecare providers continue to represent the largest segment of the vision arena, and this segment reported an even stronger 2.6% increase in sales from September 2018 to September 2019, according to the report. Still, the number of consumers making purchases after receiving an eye exam remained flat. 
 
The report also showed an increase in online sales of prescription eyewear during the 12-month period—7.35 million pairs of Rx eyewear and 8.7 million pairs of plano sunglasses were sold online. This accounts for 9.3% of all U.S. adult prescription glasses and 8.3%of all plano sunglass sales, respectively.
 
Managed Vision Care coverage also increased 2.6% since September 2018, equating to a net growth of 3.3 million U.S. adults covered. Coverage increased specifically in women, adults over the age of 35, adults with higher annual household incomes, and people living in the Northeast region of the U.S. 
 
For more information, visit thevisioncouncil.org/research. The Q3 analysis and future outlook will be presented at The Vision Council’s 2020 Executive Summit, taking place Jan. 29-31 in Manalapan, FL.