The highlights from 20/20’s newly released 2024 L&T Premium Lens MarketPulse Survey provide key metrics that can help you benchmark your practice’s sales. For instance, 63 percent of the retailers surveyed said that spectacle lenses and treatments made up a larger percentage of their location’s total gross dollar sales in 2023, compared to three years ago. Seventy-three percent said pricing on spectacle lenses and treatments has increased compared to three years ago, and 40 percent said that Rx sun lenses as a percentage of total dollar sales increased over the same period.

For complete survey results, contact Jennifer Waller, Director of Research & Business Analytics at [email protected].

–Andrew Karp

 

TOTAL SALES
When asked to rank lens design by popularity, standard or aspheric single vision was ranked most popular by 46 percent of retailers. Customized or personalized progressives were ranked most popular by 32 percent.

Twenty-nine percent of retailers said less than 3 percent of single vision Rxs sold are digitally enhanced.

Over half of retailers (56 percent) said less than 3 percent of single vision digitally enhanced lenses use actual vertex, tilts and wrap measurements done in the office by the retailer.

Fifty-eight percent of retailers said that customized or personalized progressive lenses made up a greater proportion of their total lens sales in 2023 than they had versus three years ago, and over half (52 percent) said computer/variable focus sales had increased over the last three years, while 28 percent said that sales of bi/trifocals had decreased as a percentage of total lens sales over the last three years, respectively.

Seventy-eight percent prefer lens manufacturer brands over lab private labels for digital progressive lenses.

COMPUTER/OFFICE LENSES
Almost all retailers surveyed (93 percent) say they determine whether a patient should have computer lenses by their occupation/vocation as opposed to add power.

LENS MATERIALS
When asked to rank lens material by popularity, polycarbonate was ranked most popular by 51 percent of the retailers. Standard plastic was ranked most popular by 25 percent. Tribrid, the newest material, was ranked least popular by the most retailers (48 percent), while glass (1.52) was ranked least popular by 47 percent.

Forty-three percent of retailers said that their 2023 polycarbonate lens sales increased as a proportion of total lens pair sales compared to one year ago. Forty percent and 37 percent said the same about their super high-index and Trivex lenses, respectively. Sixty-eight percent said that their mid-index lens sales had stayed flat. Glass was the weakest, with 39 percent saying that glass made up a smaller proportion of their total lens sales in 2023 than last year.

BLUE LIGHT FILTERS
An average of 53 percent of clear blue light filtering lenses are produced with blue light filtering AR coatings. For 19 percent, the blue filter is within the lens substrate (in-resin). Twenty-nine percent are combinations of the two.

PERSONALIZED PROGRESSIVES
Retailers said that 47 percent of their progressive lens sales are personalized/compensated, on average.

Twenty-eight percent of the progressive lenses with personalized/compensated designs include actual vertex, tilt and wrap measurements.

Over half (54 percent) use the manufacturer’s or lab’s default measurements for position of wear (vertex, panto and wrap).

DIGITAL MEASURING DEVICES
Thirty-four percent of retailers said that they have a digital measuring device in their office to take position of wear measurements. Among them, 51 percent say they use it 75 percent to 100 percent of the time.

LENS PACKAGES
Fifty-two percent of retailers say that they use package pricing. Eighty-three percent offer premium, mid-range and value package pricing. The average price of a lens-only package was $298. The most popular feature to include in a lens package is 100 percent UV (58 percent).

OUTDOOR EYEWEAR
Fifty-eight percent said they have increased discussions with their patients on the importance of UV and HEV blue light absorbing eyewear for outdoor use, and 53 percent have written more Rxs for them in the last three years.