Can you see me now?

By Kathie Canning

Whether they are aiming to sooth dry eyes, relieve allergy-related itchy eyes, clean and lubricate contact lenses, or address age-related vision issues, U.S. consumers now may choose from a wide range of over-the-counter (OTC) eye care options. And an increasing number of consumers appear to be reaching for such items.

Data from IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, show that dollar sales jumped 2.4 percent in the total eye/contact lens care product category during the 52 weeks ending Dec. 25, 2016. Private brands within the category fared even better, with dollar sales rising 5.6 percent during the same timeframe.

Eye on relief

Eye lubrication products represent one potential growth area for private brands. According to Euromonitor International, a market research firm headquartered in London, increased use of electronic devices, an upswing in the number of LASIK surgery procedures, an aging population and even increased use of marijuana mean more incidences of dry eye — supporting the growth of dry eye remedies.

“Unsurprisingly, products for dry eye accounted for a 63 percent share of standard eye care retail value sales in 2016,” Euromonitor states in its September 2016 “Eye Care in the US” report. “Consumers overwhelmingly prefer drops over other formats for dry eye and other symptoms such as tired eyes and red eyes,” the company adds.

John Langfitt, eye care brand manager for United Exchange Corp. in Cerritos, Calif., agrees with the positive outlook for dry eye remedies.

“The continuing growth of artificial tears due to demographic trends translates into more space needed for store brand products in the segment,” he says.

Allergy-related eye care products also present product development opportunities. Such products posted current value growth of 4 percent in 2016, reaching $188 million in sales, Euromonitor states.

The year 2016 “followed a broader trend toward more severe allergy seasons in the U.S. as extreme weather conditions and climate change prompt milder winters and subsequently greater pollen releases in the spring and summer,” the market research firm states.

One trend retailers might want to pursue for both dry eye and allergy-related remedies — or any eye-drop-format product — is the ability to dispense preservative-free eye drops in a multi-dose bottle.

“Preservative-free eye drops used to only be sold in single-use vials, but now some branded manufacturers have introduced this new technology,” Langfitt explains.

On the packaging front, retailers might want to offer twin packs of some store brand eye drops, too. They can help retailers give a price break to heavy users, he notes.

Focus on vision health

Also of high consumer interest are eye care products aimed at supporting eye health or vision. Dietary supplements that are positioned for eye health posted a compound annual growth rate of 9 percent in 2016 to reach $451 million, Euromonitor points out.

Traditionally, eye care supplements have been limited to vitamin and mineral combinations that claim to protect against age-related macular degeneration, notes Joe Kuncewitch, national sales manager for AstaReal Inc. in Burlington, N.J. But Astaxanthin, which AstaReal offers in a natural format, is now getting attention for its ability to address computer- and video-display-related vision issues — and could bring growth to the store brand eye care segment.

“On average, workers and adolescents in modern cities spend over 45 hours per week staring at computer screens, playing video games, watching television or interacting with smartphones,” he says.

“Numerous human trials conducted by Fuji Chemical, parent company to AstaReal, have shown reduced asthenopia (eye fatigue), improved accommodation (focus) and enhanced visual acuity (clarity) by simply supplementing with 6mg of AstaReal Astaxanthin each day.”

And retailers that do not have a store brand eyewear program might want to consider adding one.

“When executed well, the customers equate the store brand to quality, and the retailer benefits from subsequent return purchases,” notes Paul Shimones, business development manager for Today’s Optical in New York.

He adds that value-minded multi-packs — namely, three-packs of reading glasses — are a trend worth pursuing for retailers competing with big box stores, club stores and discounters.

One eye care area in which retailers might want to invest less time and effort, however, is lens care.

“Lens care is a category made up of many segments that are declining,” Langfitt explains, “so the focus should be mostly on chemicals/multi-purpose solutions.”

Merchandise with care

Properly merchandising the eye care category and the private brand items within it is important, too. But Langfitt admits that the category presents a merchandising challenge. Some subcategories are declining and call for minimal SKUs, while others continue to grow.

“The key to managing eye care is to determine product mix by segment under general eye care (products going into the eye without contact lenses) and lens care (products related to contact lens care in and out of the eye),” he says. “General eye care products can’t be too high on the shelf because of the older customers.”

Retailers also could boost sales by cross-merchandising private brand eye care products with related products, Euromonitor suggests. For example, some retailers have placed allergy-related eye care products by displays of cough, cold and allergy remedies. Others ramp up the marketing of eye care products at the start of the school year.

“One Target store in August 2016 featured a shelving end cap reading ‘Study comfortably — Relieve irritated eyes fast’ next to packs of Systane eye drops,” Euromonitor offers as a branded example — one that could potentially work on the own-brand side.

As for the merchandising of private brand eyewear, retailers need to look into alternative promotions, ads, coupons and discounts for what Shimones says tends to be a forgotten category.

Bring “some attention and customer focus to the line, driving sales [and] increasing turns and profits,” he advises.

Retail employees also should be available to interact with customers in relation to the category — asking the right questions so they are able to recommend the right store brand eye care products, Kuncewitch suggests.

For example, to determine if a shopper is suffering from “computer vision syndrome” and could benefit from a store brand Astaxanthin product, a retailer might ask if the shopper feels tired or irritable when working on the computer, has stiffness in the neck and shoulder muscles, and is experiencing sore eyes or blurred vision after staring at his or her tablet or smartphone for extended periods, he says. 

Kathie Canning is a freelance writer from Libertyville, Ill.