A central economic narrative of the past decade has been the emergence of online retail as a reliable and even preferred method of shopping for Americans. And purveyors of glasses and contacts have benefitted from this shift more than most. Says IBIS, “New technologies, such as virtual try-on systems in which shoppers upload a picture to see how frames look on their faces before ordering a pair, have made customers more confident in their online purchases.”
Average annual growth 2002-2012: 28.2%
Projected annual growth 2012-2017: 8.8%