Price Issues

Product Pricing Component

In today's world, the ophthalmic retail industry of eyewear has become more of an image statement for different people's personalities and lifestyles, which is termed as "Lifestyle eyewear." Lifestyle eyewear was never considered an everyday noticed perception for each individual, even though the face is the first area we look at when seeing people.

This popularity demand image statement offers the benefits of giving patients the value of freedom, seeing the world in a whole new way, increasing self-esteem, enhancing appearance, having a more independent lifestyle, feeling more youthful, offering cost saving expenses, and providing long-term healthier eyes.

The market size in retail eyewear sales grows each year due to the improvements and different choices of eyeglass lenses offered to each patient's visual needs according to his or her prescription.

The economic issues, which have affected the supply and demand of the ophthalmic lifestyle eyewear, are the war on terror, 911 attacks, and rising gas prices.

The Lifestyle eyewear products offered to meet these benefits include eyeglass frames and lenses depending on each individual daily activity both for professional, personal, and other visual interests.

Frame sizes and shapes make a difference in selecting the correct pair of eyeglasses for each patient's personality and lifestyle. The different sizes and shapes offered are large, small, round, oval, rectangular, and wraparound to fulfill the personality and lifestyles for the conservative businessperson, creative person, retired senior, student, children, busy mom and dad, and the active and athletic person. Many patients will want more than one pair of eyeglasses to round out their wardrobe and daily activities such as professional, personal, sport, fashion, and evening activities. Some types of glasses in demand are prescription and non-prescription sunglasses, backup glasses, computer glasses, sewing glasses, shooting glasses, sports glasses, sport goggles, scuba mask glasses or lenses, safety glasses, reading glasses, half eye glasses, fishing glasses, and hunting glasses.

Lenses of different styles and materials make a difference in selecting the correct pair of lenses for each patient's eyeglasses to offer the best-corrected vision for his or her personality and lifestyle. The different styles and materials of lenses offered are plastic, glass, polycarbonate, mid-index, and high-index. The material used for the lenses depends on the patient's prescription to reduce the weight and thickness shown in the eyeglass frame. The different styles of lenses offered are single vision lenses, bifocal lenses, trifocal lenses, progressive (no-line bifocal), occupational double bifocal, and industrial safety lenses. Other options for lenses are different colored tints, ultra violet, anti-glare, scratch coat, and photo chromic lenses.

Substitute or complementary products, which affect the pricing decision of Lifestyle eyewear, consist of non-prescription sunglasses, contact lenses, and Lasik surgery.

The demand in the ophthalmic retail industry is inelastic; price changes have little impact on the demand of prescription Lifestyle eyewear. Patients still need and want the product in order to fulfill their vision lifestyle and will compare prices to other retail optical stores.

Strategies used to promote more revenue sales are offering a basic package deal consisting of frame and lenses, lower product line of materials used in frames and lenses, discounts on patients without insurance, and receiving a second basic pair of eyewear glasses for half the price after purchasing a first pair of eyewear glasses of high quality.

The price issues, which affect consumer demands in the ophthalmic retail industry, are due to competition, manufacturers, and product materials used to produce both eyeglass frames and lenses. Competition between retail outlets, economic factors, insurance coverage, inflation, and interest rates affect cost issues. These issues are minimal within the ophthalmic retail industry; consumers will conserve their spending by purchasing low-end or substitute eyewear products because the demand has grown in popularity. Technology in the eyewear industry is a very important structure. The cost impact towards the average total cost of productivity is recoverable of profit return` or breaking even from an increased demand of consumer spending on the latest trends of technology eyewear improvement of lenses and fashion style eyewear. This will account when the market revenue and market cost price is equal to the average total cost to have a breakeven point of return (Table 1). A profit return will account when the market revenue and market cost price is greater than the average total cost (Table 2).

Table 1 Breakeven point:

Table 2 Profit return:

The market structure size in consumer spending