Attention Shoppers:Online Eyeglasses Is a Viable Option

March 7, 2011

By Vanessa L. Facenda : Contributing Editor

Online-only eyewear retailers want to make one thing absolutely clear—they do not sell cheap eyeglasses. They sell quality eyeglasses at lower prices than their brick-and-mortar counterparts by removing added expenses, executives told Vision Monday.

Levente Laczay, founder and CEO of ZenniOptical, said that brick-and-mortar optical stores have extremely high markups on prescription eyeglasses and frames. “There is no conspiracy, more so, they don’t have a choice.” Factors such as intense competition due to market saturation and sharp overhead costs, “force [brick-and-mortar] opticians and retailers to upsell the consumer in order to make a profit or just break even,” he said. “Online operators do not have those issues.”

Online-eyewear merchants emphasize that they are able to sell fashion-forward and designer-branded frames, as well as high quality prescription lenses as a result of tremendous improvements in technology and because they have lean organizational structures with lower costs as a result of working as online-operators.

Convincing consumers online eyewear is a viable alternative remains challenging. Consumers still feel the most comfortable trying eyeglasses on their faces. And online-only eyewear retailers are not able to provide the personal, face-to-face customer service that brick-and-mortar optical stores can. But, with time and “new technologies, the obstacles will be overcome,” said Roy Hessel, CEO of EyeBuyDirect.com.

Online eyewear sales are a small—but increasing—percentage of online retail sales According to a Vision Council consumer panel report in October 2010, about 7 percent of all retail sales—all consumer products, not just eyewear—are online versus less than 1 percent of eyewear sales online, but online-only eyewear merchants believe the category is well-positioned for strong future growth. The greatest impediment to this growth—lack of awareness.

Online-only eyewear retailers admit that the majority of consumers do not know quality frames and Rx lenses are available online. But promoting that message is difficult as there is no huge player in the online eyewear industry marketing the benefits of buying online, so there is not a lot of education for the consumer. “Current online eyewear players do not have the marketing power to spread that message,” said James Hilford, president of Eyeglasses.com.

Word of mouth marketing, as well as online and social media messaging are helping online eyewear sales. “One year ago, the majority of consumers were researching eyewear online, now they are starting to buy online,” said Roger Hardy, Coastal’s president and CEO. “But it is still a challenge getting consumers to change a buying pattern that they have become accustomed to, even though it will save time and money.”

Eyal Gutentag, CEO of BestBuyEyeglasses, agreed that the growth will continue. “In the years ahead, we are likely to see significant growth in online Rx and non-Rx sales as people become more comfortable embracing the Internet for their optical purchases. He said the Internet offers optical customers “a compelling combination of product selection and convenience and new technologies will only serve to enhance this online purchase experience.”

The 2010 Vision Council Internet Influence Report found that after two straight years of significant increases, there was a slight decline of Internet usage when shopping for eyewear in 2010. The decline was reportedly consistent across all optical products and demographics although strongest among men and Americans between the ages of 18 to 34. However, the report added that the decline in usage for various “window shopping functions” may be a result of changing the fielding date of the survey and the result of changing sample provides from 2009 to 2010; not necessarily the result of changing consumer behavior. Online-only eyewear merchants contacted for this story vehemently disagree with the report’s findings. Those contacted all claimed double-digit increases in website traffic and sales growth in 2010—and are forecasting strong numbers in 2011.

As consumers transition from browsers to buyers, online-only eyewear merchants agree that high service levels are of the utmost importance—they must provide service guarantees and back it up with actual service—strong online customer service, high in-stock levels, quick delivery on orders, and free no-hassle returns.

The following is a sampling of five leading online-only eyewear retailers, who discuss their growth strategies.

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