Online Contact Lens Sales: A case how e-commerce is changing a traditional brick & mortar market

The online contact lens industry is rapidly growing and has already stolen more than 10% marketshare from the incumbent brick & mortar stores. It seems that the traditional players have finally woken up and are going head-to-head in the online market.

Contact lenses seem most suitable to sell online. Due to their relatively high value to weight ratio, the shipping cost of a contact lens only compromises a small part of the total cost. In addition, online businesses have a lower cost basis than their brick & mortar counterparts, mainly because they do not require expensive retail space. The business model for online retailers is therefore simple: compete on price with the traditional stores.

The main drawback is that eye examinations cannot be done online. As such, these online retailers therefore concentrate primarily on the sale of replacement contact lenses. The online contact lens industry is yet to find an answer for this.

The main players in this online industry are 1-800 Contacts, Vision Direct, Lens.com and Coastal Contacts. Only the latter is publicly listed. Coastal Contacts' financial reports show a positive picture: strong sales growth and upwards profitability trend.


It seems that the large traditional mortar-and-brick players are starting to take these online retailers serious. Luxottica, the largest eyewear retailer, has recently announced that it will also start selling contact lenses online.