The latest numbers from The Vision Council’s VisionWatch survey, the largest continuous survey of consumer purchasing attitudes toward eyewear and eyecare, reflects that the overall vision care market grew 5.8 percent in dollars for the 12 months ending December, 2015 compared to the prior year.
Overall sales of Rx lenses of all types, through all locations, reached $12.6 billion for the period, a 7.9 percent increase, while sales at retail of frames rose 5.2 percent in dollars to reach $9.6 billion.
Eye exam revenues grew 3.3 percent for the 12-month period to reach a value of $5.9 billion.
The Vision Council’s VisionWatch definition of the Total Vision Care Market includes dollars spent at all retail types at any retail location on the sale of either spectacle lenses (including Rx sun), frames, contact lenses, plano sunglasses, OTC readers, or revenue earned from refractive surgery or eye examinations. This number does not include sunglass clips and reflects the dollars spent only by those U.S. residents 18 and older and does not include retail dollars spent by/for contact lenses and exams for those 17 years of age and younger.