ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The Vision Council has announced the release of new market data and analysis reporting on the performance of the $18.3 billion optical industry for the second quarter of 2024. The Market inSights Q2 2024 report analyzes industry performance across a variety of categories, including eye exams, eyeglasses, frames, lenses, contact lenses, readers and plano sunglasses. "The Vision Council’s latest research, based on transaction data, shows a decline in both the value and volume of prescription products sold during the second quarter of this year," said Alysse Henkel, vice president of data and insights at The Vision Council.

"However, the non-prescription market saw growth, particularly in sunglasses and reading glasses. This decline in prescription products follows a typical seasonal pattern in consumer purchasing, which is expected to rebound in the third quarter," Henkel said.

As expected, the months of April, May and June saw an influx in sales of plano (non-prescription) products. Warmer weather across the United States drove consumer demand, with non-prescription sunglasses sales increasing by 25.6 million units compared with the first quarter of 2024, resulting in a market value boost of $1.6 billion. Reading glasses also saw significant growth in the second quarter, with sales rising to 51.2 million units, up by over 8 million units compared with Q1 2024.

Other key highlights from the Q2 inSights report include:

● The contact lenses market sold more than 38 million boxes of contacts.

● Lenses led the prescription market with a value of $4.27 billion.

● More than 17 million pairs of frames were sold.

● 31.5 million patients received a comprehensive eye exam.

● The market value of plano sunglasses exceeded $5 billion.

● Consumers purchased more than 51 million pairs of readers.

The full report is available in The Vision Council’s Research Download Center as a complimentary download for members of The Vision Council, with a paid option for non-members to download.