Key takeaways:
- In the first quarter, consumers leaned toward lower-cost eyeglasses and shorter supplies of contact lenses.
- Buyers are facing an uncertain economic environment and prioritizing value.
U.S. consumers spent less money on a range of vision care products in the first quarter of 2026 compared with previous quarters, favoring lower-priced items and buying fewer of them, according to the Vision Council.
“Consumers are making more value-conscious choices, and that extends to vision care,” Kris Stevens, vice president of research at the Vision Council, said in a press release. “With inflation and broader economic uncertainty continuing to shape household budgets, it’s no surprise that discretionary spending is under pressure, and eyewear is not immune.”
In the first 3 months of the year, buyers spent more out-of-pocket cash on budget eyeglasses (under $100) and less on more expensive glasses (between $100 and $199), according to the Vision Council’s Consumer inSights Q1 2026 report.
More than half of those who bought contact lenses (53%) bought a supply of 3 months or less. These customers may be “operating closer to the refill horizon,” meaning they could be more receptive to reorder reminders and sensitive to the speed of order fulfillment, the Vision Council said in the report.
An increased share of consumers (50%) bought just one pair of reading glasses rather than multiple.
“Reading glasses purchasing behavior shifted this quarter, with single-pair purchases now matching the share of multi-pair purchases, a change from patterns we’ve seen in prior quarters,” Stevens told Healio. “Our data also show that there was a slight increase in the average price as well as a willingness to buy product from locations that typically have higher costs, resulting in consumers spending more on fewer products.”
For more information:
Kris Stevens can be reached at kstevens@thevisioncouncil.org.
Sources/Disclosures
Source:
Press Release
Reference:
Disclosures:
Stevens reports being vice president of research at the Vision Council.
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