The year 2020 came and went. But it felt unbearably long. This devastating year was plagued with losses both in terms of emotions and finances. Businesses shut down, GDP went downhill, and it is still staggering to get back to previous levels. With heavy losses, companies are brainstorming on how to get back on their feet. But during this time, some business prospered as well. People started ordering food at home, focussed more on wellness products, and became mindful of their screen time. The eyewear industry is one of those that did well during the past year, particularly due to ‘blue light glasses’.
Eyewear Industry and increasing demand for glasses
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For the past year, the sales of glasses have only increased. As the business models shifted to the new-normal work from home, glasses requirements boomed.
Too much time on digital devices
You are working from your home on your computers. With the blur in boundaries of work and home, you are spending more time than usual without getting any breaks. You are stuck on the computer for hours which is taxing on the eyes.
According to experts, blue light exposure all day and night from digital screens affects your eyes. You get eye strain, fatigue and headaches. These high energy blue light rays also disrupt your sleep cycle. Because of this blue light glasses demands are on a rise. Wearing blue light glasses are helpful for stressful work demands.
Digital Devices for Recreation
Not just work, for recreation, you are getting on your digital devices. As you could not go outdoors or meet friends outside, you hang out with them on video calls. You spend your time gaming or browsing social media. You are never away from your devices. To adjust your new routine, you get glasses that will protect your eyes from too much screen time.
Glasses for fashionable appeal
Also, glasses are one of the ways to show off a professional look at a video conference. You can not dress up in your power suits to look impressive. You will need confident and appealing glasses frames to look good on your meetings online.
During this pandemic time, people are seeking glasses for both vision and fashion needs. And once this is all over, it will be harder to shift back to older ways. You cannot leave your phone behind, spend fewer hours gaming or browsing the internet mindlessly. Likely, the demands for blue light glasses will only increase and not decrease.
How did the Eyewear industry meet the demand?
With the lockdown imposed, people could not go to their usual opticians to get their glasses made. With the requirement of social distancing, even the most traditional people shifted to digital platforms to look for their pair of readers.
Not just glasses, to meet everyday needs, groceries, medicines, outfits, and everything are ordered online. And with the fast logistics connecting all the supply chains, meeting the increasing demand of home delivery with utmost hygiene and care.
There are various new-age startups in the UK who are meeting this demand. One of them is Specscart, a Manchester-based eyewear company known for its fast delivery times. Prescription and non-prescription glasses with high-quality lenses are manufactured with precision and then dispatched with fast speed.
Convenience
Digital platforms of glasses are more convenient than the brick and mortar stores. Not to mention safe with no physical contacts. With online catalogues of glasses frames, you can choose glasses. You can easily check out several glasses by swiping your phone screen. It is harder to physically try hundreds of eyeglasses but checking out the style on a phone or an iPad is not hard. It is more convenient and is likely to prevail even after everything comes back to normal.
Comparison
Buying glasses online does not need you to be loyal. Your loyalty will go to the one offering better price and quality. With glasses, you will want the best eyeglasses with style and quality at an affordable range. You can compare prices, quality and then buy your favourite pair of glasses.
Try out before buying
The only advantage of buying at the store over digital platforms is that you can try out the glasses before buying. You can virtually try out the glasses frames with the revolutionary virtual try-on services. You can get a look at how you will appear after wearing the style of frame.
Another option is the 180-degree view. You can check the look of the glasses frames on a model from all the angles. With it, you can have an idea of how the glasses look on a face.
And the best service that is making the eyewear industry flourish is the free home trial service. You can try out your chosen pair of spectacles and try them out at your home. You can try the glasses, click pics, ask your friends or even try out your several outfits with the glasses frames. You will know how you look with the glasses with your outfit style. You can decide to match the glasses look with your outfits.
Not just the glasses frames, you can also check the quality of the lenses. You can check the quality of the blue light blocking lenses bypassing blue light on them. You can try out transition lenses, anti-glare lenses at home and decide after checking the quality.
Free Eye Test
When you require new prescription glasses, you visit an optician, get the prescription and get the new glasses made by the store. In the digital model, you provide the prescription slip or your glasses numbers to the glasses makers. You will need to go to an optician and then order glasses online.
Not necessarily. You can get your eyes tested at home as well. You can also get your eyes tested at your workplace.
Fast Delivery
Glasses take time to manufacture. Each pair of glasses is made with different requirements, different types of lenses and prescription.
When you accidentally break your prescription glasses, and you don’t have spare glasses as well, you order glasses in the hope to get them soon. Otherwise, it hampers your work. For such an urgent requirement, you don’t have any other option but to wait patiently. Few glasses sellers have cut down on the manufacturing time of the glasses and provide glasses with utmost precision and quality. These glasses sellers are making glasses fast, and with the fast logistics, you are getting your high-quality glasses in the best quality.
International Shipping
You don’t just have the option of buying glasses from your local optical store. You can order eyeglasses and get them shipped internationally. There are more choices for you to shop for eyeglasses. People are being socially distant, but they are connected more digitally than ever.
What other industries flourished
Apart from the health industry, many industries flourished in these perilous times. Many businesses with no digital presence, restaurants and bars, schools and colleges faced a crisis, but several businesses made banks.
Logistics
Online shopping cannot thrive without logistics. With fast logistics, you could get your fashion apparels, glasses, groceries, and everything that you ordered online. In the UK, online purchase accounted for 31.2 per cent in June 2020, after the removal of lockdown restrictions. The previous year was 18.3 %.
Online Education
Schools and colleges were closed. Recruitment from companies was at an all-time low. In this period, people sought online education and training to improve their skill set. Remote learning has hastened its way into the traditional education system.
Streaming services
Lockdown gave a lot of time. You were no longer as hectic and had ample time to watch movies or series, leading to you getting a subscription for video streaming services. In the first three months of 2020, as much as 53 per cent of UK households had a subscription to major video streaming platforms.