The Vision Council releases Tariff Impact Report: Potential Industry impact from Eyewear Tariffs

The Vision Council’s research team released a first-of-its-kind report in September, which attempts to gauge how potential U.S. tariffs on Chinese eyewear could impact consumer buying habits, intentions and spending.

Through a questionnaire to recent eyewear buyers (those who bought ophthalmic frames, prescription lenses, Plano lenses, over-the-counter reading glasses and contact lenses) The Vision Council evaluated willingness of consumers to spend 10 to 25 percent more for the eyewear and lenses they already purchased. Using import data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the research team calculated which eyewear purchases would be in danger if tariffs on Chinese eyewear are implemented. The report outlines topline estimates of unit and dollar purchases that could be lost if tariffs are implemented on Chinese eyewear.
The report delves into which U.S. consumer demographic groups will be least and most affected by price increases resulting from tariffs on Chinese eyewear—with a special focus on recent prescription eyeglass buyers—and examines which consumers will postpone or cancel eyewear purchases due to both rising general prices and inflation (resulting from general tariffs on all Chinese products), as well as rising optical prices specifically from tariffs on eyewear.
The report concludes by investigating the strategies that consumers will use (i.e. spend less money on future eyewear purchases, extend the use of their eyewear to postpone buying, search harder for the best value, purchase eyewear online, etc.) to combat rising eyewear prices resulting from the implementation of tariffs on Chinese eyewear.

To download the full report, please click here. To learn more about this report and other market research, please contact Greg Chavez, The Vision Council’s executive vice president of operations and membership, at gchavez@thevisioncouncil.org or at 703-740-1399.
For more information on The Vision Council’s industry research visit thevisioncouncil.org.