The long time that has passed is to blame for the development screens is spent – whether at work, at university or at school. The eye focuses heavily on the area nearby, which in the long term can lead to myopia developing. Experts therefore recommend taking regular breaks when working on screens to look into the distance. Also conscious Blinking or moistening the eyes Using eye drops can help against excessive exposure. While you’re working in front of a screen, glasses with blue light filters can make your vision more comfortable.
But it’s not just increasing poor eyesight that’s driving up sales, but also rising prices for glasses – and this has been the case for several years. Robert Hartlauer, managing director of the optician chain of the same name, speaks in the KURIER interview of an average price increase for glasses of around 15 to 20 percent over the last few years. This was primarily due to the “serious increases in wage costs” and the increased transport costs following the corona pandemic.
High importance
At the same time, one can currently observe that Austrians are increasingly looking at their money, as the Wutscher optician chain reported in response to a KURIER request. This doesn’t necessarily mean that people are spending less money, but rather that they are relying more on high-quality, long-lasting products. The increasing awareness of one’s own health also has a positive effect on the economic situation of opticians. “Good vision is simply very important,” says Wutscher.
They are currently very trendy Progressive lensesthat support their wearers in various everyday situations.
In an interview with KURIER, Fielmann Austria managing director Björn Kliewe calls them “real wonderwuzzis”. But contact lenses, which are worn as an alternative to glasses, are also becoming increasingly popular. At Fielmann they are the fastest growing segment and daily lenses in particular are being bought by more and more customers.
Personal advice
Unlike most other industries, local opticians hardly suffer from growing online competition. On the contrary: Some chains are expanding their presence in stationary retail with more and more branches, including in rural regions and smaller towns.
This development comes as no surprise to the Federal Guild Master of Optometrists Markus Gschweidl. For a successful purchase of glasses, personal advice and individual adjustment from a master optician are important. “Buying glasses online is therefore probably not a good option for the customer,” says Gschweidl to KURIER.
Nevertheless, the optician chains are also expanding their presence on the web. For Wutscher, the online shop is the “largest shop window,” as the company says. The focus there is also on personal advice, for example through the option of booking an appointment in a branch online.