Structure of the Eyewear Market

According to product dimensions, eyewear products can be divided into eyeglasses and contacts. Eyeglasses include nearsighted glasses, farsighted glasses, presbyopic glasses, astigmatic glasses, sunglasses, and so on. Contacts refer to contact lenses. From the perspective of product composition, lenses and optical frames are still the core products, accounting for 40.5% and 36.4% of the eyewear market, respectively. Contact lenses benefit from online channels and reach a wider range of customers. The share of retail sales has increased to 12.1%, while that of sunglasses has declined to about 9.5%. Presbyopic glasses still account for a small part. But since people born in the 1960s and 1970s have a rising demand for presbyopic glasses and they have a high recognition of professional optometry, the proportion of retail sales of presbyopic glasses has grown slightly compared to last year.

Geographic Distribution of the Eyewear Industry in China

From the perspective of the circulation chain, most of the raw materials and eyewear products in China's eyewear have achieve self-sufficiency. Due to the pandemic, in 2021 China’s eyewear exports shrank slightly. Despite that, its export value exceeded 4 billion USD. Most of the Chinese eyewear companies are in the production link, which is in the middle of the value chain. At present, there are multiple glasses production bases and distribution centers in China. Among them, Danyang in Jiangsu Province, Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, Xiamen in Fujian Province and Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province are the four major bases. They are all located in southeast coastal provinces and their product positioning slightly varies. In recent years, with the advancement of the industry transfer in recent years, a group of glasses manufacturers in the southeast coast, represented by Guangdong, began to move to the inland.

Trends in the Eyewear Market

For a long time, people don’t buy new glasses frequently since the eyeglass prescriptions of most adults are relatively stable. As the personalized consumption concept gradually spreads, more and more people now have different glasses for different scenarios, leading to the rise of eyewear products with functions such as vision correction, slowing down the progression of myopia, resisting light damage, protection, and so on. Eyewear has become an important accessory in our life. Compared to 2021, more consumers now have more than one pair of glasses.

Size of China’s Eyewear Market

In 2021 the eyewear industry was still under the influence of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, progressive lenses and eyeglasses that can slow the progression of myopia were increasingly favored by consumers. The rise in their sales made up for the impact of the pandemic on the industry to some extent. As to retail, the eyewear industry was no longer so sluggish as in 2020. The segment of lenses increased significantly, driving the growth of optical frames. The total size of the retail market was 85 billion yuan. The eyewear market will grow steadily in the next few years.

Consumer Study

This survey has 2063 samples, of which 45.7% are young females and 42.6% are young males. Young people are the main target of this questionnaire. Teenagers no more than 18 years old and people aged 40 and above account for 5.2% and 6.5% of the samples. Another category in the research is parents who buy glasses for their children. and divides the group of "baby parents and mothers". From the perspective of the above five types of users, user profiles are created based on the function demand, price preference and purchase channels of eyewear products. The analysis result is shown in the following figure.

Consumer Study

This survey has 2063 samples, of which 45.7% are young females and 42.6% are young males. Young people are the main target of this questionnaire. Teenagers no more than 18 years old and people aged 40 and above account for 5.2% and 6.5% of the samples. Another category in the research is parents who buy glasses for their children. and divides the group of "baby parents and mothers". From the perspective of the above five types of users, user profiles are created based on the function demand, price preference and purchase channels of eyewear products. The analysis result is shown in the following figure.

Insights from the Perspective of Brands

The level and richness of eyewear products in China have been enhancing in recent years. Producers of glasses have launched a lot of new products in a short time, providing consumers with more and better choices. Chinese glasses makers’ branding and product promotion activities have achieved some results. Compared to 2021, the share of consumers who believe that the quality of imported lenses is not necessarily better than that of domestic lenses has increased by 2.7%, showing that consumers have more confidence in domestic lenses. Due to product iteration brought about by technology advancement, the market concentration rates of well-known lens makers at home and abroad are both expected to grow. Chinese eyewear brands need to further enhance product competitiveness and brand awareness to realize the rise of domestic products.

Table of Contents of the Full Report

1. Overview of Eyewear products in China
1.1 Eyes are the most important sensory organs
1.2 Common Eye Health Problems
1.3 Eye Health Problems and Means of Correction
1.4 Glasses are the main means of eye protection and vision correction
1.5 Structure of the Eyewear Market
1.6 Eyewear Products – Material of Lenses
1.7 Eyewear Products – Function of Lenses
1.8 Eyewear Products – Shape of Optical Frames  
1.9 Eyewear Products – Material of Optical Frames  

2. Development of China’s Eyewear Industry 
2.1 Eyewear Industry Map
2.2 Distribution of the Eyewear Industry in China 
2.3 Trends in the Eyewear Market
2.4 Development Direction of the Eyewear Industry
2.5 Size of the Eyewear Market in China
2.6 Size of the Eyeglass Lense Market in China
2.7 Competitive Landscape of the Eyeglass Lense Market in China (Sales)
2.8 Competitive Landscape of the Eyeglass Lense Market in China (Sales Volume)
2.9 Lense Product Circulation Chain in China 
2.10 China’s Eyeglass Lenses Industry Development Extraversion  
2.11 Size of China’s Optical Frame Market  
2.12 China’s Optical Frame Industry Models
2.13 Landscape of the Optical Frame Industry in China
2.14 China’s Optical Frame Industry Development Extraversion

3. Eyewear Industry Development Dynamics in China
3.1 Policy Dynamics
3.2 Market Demand Dynamics
3.3 Industry Development Dynamics
3.4 Product Evolution:  Products that Can Slow the Progression of Myopia
3.5 Product Evolution:  Progressive Multifocal Lens
3.6 Retail Transformation:  Optical Center
3.7 New Marketing:  Online and Offline Integration
3.8 New Marketing:  Brand Ambassador

4. Analysis of Chinese Eyewear Consumers
4.1 Analysis of Chinese Eyewear Consumers
4.2 Core Demand 
4.3 Demand for Lens Functions
4.4 Demand for Frame Functions
4.5 Demand for Myopia Control Functions
4.6 Consumption Preference
4.7 Consumers’ Main Purchase Channels of Lenses and Brand Awareness  
4.8 Consumers’ Price Expectation and the Real Price 
4.9 Main Channels to Purchase Optical Frames
4.10 Time and Reasons for Buying New Glasses 

5. Insights into the Development of China's Eyewear Industry
5.1 Insights from the Perspective of Lenses
5.2 Insights from the Perspective of Frames
5.3 Insights from the Perspective of Retail  
5.4 Insights from the Perspective of Brands