Grand View Research valued the global eyewear market at $158 billion in 2021, which is forecasted to increase every year until 2030.
In the US, eyewear is a multi-billion dollar industry, primarily thanks to the lifestyle patterns consumers (particularly millennials) have generated, including demanding luxury eyewear and accessories.
This year alone, EDO has seen traditional brick-and-mortar as well as newer direct-to-consumer players advertising on national linear TV. By our estimation, the biggest advertisers so far this year have been:
- 1-800 Contacts
- America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses
- LensCrafters
- Visionworks
- Warby Parker
The eyewear industry in 2022
Thanks to EDO’s national TV advertising tracking and measurement, marketers can easily see which advertisers have the largest voice and leading consumers to act.
The advertiser America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses has almost 50% of the Share of Voice (i.e., impressions) on national TV, with Visionworks holding over 30%, and Warby Parker holding approximately 10% of the impressions. The distribution of Share of Airings tells a similar story – however, the Share of Search Engagement Volume (SoSEV), or organic online branded search due to TV ad airings, shows a different story.
The brands Visionworks and Warby Parker have each taken over one-third of the Share of Search within this eyewear list. In other words, these two brands have the greatest Share of Search attributed to their TV advertising and are making the greatest impact in terms of consumer engagement.
Measuring consumer engagement
America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses may have the greatest investment on national TV, but that does not guarantee the greatest efficiency. With over 10K airings, the brand had had less than 20% of the SoSEV.
Warby Parker, on the other hand, has had 36% of the SoSEV, or organic online search, this year and generated a Campaign SER that is 230% above the eyewear industry average. This means that Warby Parker is 230% more likely than the industry average to generate an organic online search (on a per-person, per-second basis), thanks to its TV advertising.
The disparity in these results is primarily due to the differing media and creative investments of each brand. For instance, so far in 2022, America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses invested the most estimated spend (~$9.7 million) during primetime programming. Yet, in terms of generating search, its other daypart programs were just as effective at a lower cost. Warby Parker has also invested heavily during primetime, but the programming during this daypart is working more efficiently on a per dollar basis for generating consumer engagement.
The game is changing
The importance of implementing efficient advertising strategies is growing ever more important. Despite the forecasted growth of the eyewear industry, it is still in the interest of marketers to continue to spend intelligently and be wary of competitors. The game is changing thanks to advancement in technology and science.
The brand Vuity is an example of how marketers need to adapt to all-new challenges and competitors. Vuity is a type of eye drop for people with age-related blurred vision, which is stealing some of the consumers and market share of other eyewear brands. For instance, if we add Vuity to the eyewear comp. list we see it makes an impact. Despite a 19% Share of Voice, Vuity holds slightly over 40% of the SoSEV.
This case is an outlier and the eyewear industry has many other offerings to compete with Vuity. However, it is a notable example of how marketers need stay at the forefront of advertising to effectively reach and engage with consumers.
EDO can show you what’s working for your brand and a breakdown of how your competitors are advertising. Want to find out more media and creative insights? Contact us today.