India based eye care brand, Lensico recently conducted a sample survey in Delhi NCR (including New Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, and Greater Noida) by interviewing 1800 people on October & November in the age group from 12 to 20 to understand the consumer behavior regarding the use of daily disposable lenses.

As the global eyecare market is growing at a CAGR of 3.4%, the market space has experienced a complete turnover since the introduction of daily disposable lenses. Since the market entry of daily disposable lenses in 2014, these have become the healthiest and most convenient lenses to wear.

As the new age technological innovations have changed the scenario in the ophthalmology, people can have a better life with perfect eyesight and total freedom with the current advancements. The changes began with Intraocular Lenses (IOL) and started replacing conventional spectacles with quality lenses. Today, the success ratio of people relying on contact lenses, whether daily disposable or reusable, is superseding people using spectacles.

Nearly 62% of users in the survey were contact lens wearers who are using contact lenses for the last 2 years, referred to in the study as ‘current users’. The other 38% included people who discarded the use of contact lenses and are relying on spectacles in the last 2 years, referred to in the study as ‘dropouts’. People from the age group of 12 to 20 were asked a set of questionnaire regarding the awareness, use, and myths related to daily disposable lenses. The questionnaire also included questions related to normal feelings of the lens wearer in terms of satisfaction, comfort, and being happy or relaxed. The study also included the expert opinion of leading ophthalmologist regarding the feasibility of daily disposable lenses as a path-breaking innovation in the field of eye care.

The major insights of the study included the following founding:

• The study centered on the use of daily disposable lenses revealed that since the entrance of daily disposable lenses in the market there has been a rise of 33% in the adoption of daily disposable lenses by current wearers.
• The complete analysis of the study also revealed that there has been a fall of 12% in the dropouts owing to the awareness regarding the benefits of daily disposable lenses amongst the public.
• The study further showcased that the teenager segment has seen phenomenal growth in the use of daily disposable lenses during the last 2 years and the market for disposable eyewear is mushrooming within the teenager market segment owing to the reasons of having a fresh look, the ability to see their best, the freedom to be more active, fashionable and trendy.
• Out of 1800 people included in the study from the age group of 12 to 20, the major reason for 73% of people for the adoption of daily disposable lenses was market awareness, practically comfortable experience, better viewing, and affordability. The remaining 27% of the people belonging to the age group opted for daily disposable lenses on the ophthalmologist recommendation.
• The teenager surveyed in the age group from 12 to 20, comprised of 52% male current wearers and 48% of female current wearers. Nonetheless, the dropout category has a higher disparity with 67% female dropouts in comparison with 33% male dropouts.
• The major reasons for the increase in the number of users of daily disposable lenses were satisfaction, comfort, and ease of use. Based on the questionnaire, 38% of the current wearers responded affirmatively to ‘satisfaction’, 36% of them prioritized ‘ease of use’, and 26% of the surveyed people responded to ‘comfort’ of wearing daily disposable lenses.

The research conducted by Lensico concluded with the opinion of the expert ophthalmologist that most common problems and eye-diseases related to wearing contact lenses occur because of poor cleaning routines, and the use of daily disposable lenses completely discard such situations.

Using a fresh and new pair of daily disposable lenses makes it the healthiest and most convenient option amongst people. The popularity of daily disposable lenses will increase in the coming time, with a greater decrease in the number of dropouts, especially in the teenager category of 12 to 20.