FALL 2025

Shifting Focus: Generational Perspectives of Contact Lenses & Eye Care

Our latest See Tomorrow research from indicates substantial opportunity for increased contact lens adoption by Gen Z, as well as identifying purchase drivers that the eye care community can employ to encourage use. Additionally, it reveals that rationale for wearing contact lenses varies by generation, as does the appeal of technology and feature advancements.

The findings include:

Contact lens patients are more loyal to their eye care professionals compared to glasses wearers, especially among Gen X.
Millennial contact lens wear outpaces Gen Z, suggesting considerable opportunity to engage younger patients.
At least 70% of all patients want their eye care team to explain the real value of vision correction recommendations.
Gen Z and Millennial consumers’ appreciation of authenticity, personalization, and social/environmental responsibility extend to how they assess their eye care experience.
Approximately 50% of patients ages 15-44 believe that their eye doctor or staff should be available for care and questions during the evening hours.
Respondents in all generations still see their eye care team as the most trusted experts, far outpacing artificial intelligence platforms and social media.

Dive in to more highlights below and then download the full report.

Highlights

Gen Z Upside

The data indicates an eight percent difference in Gen Z contact lens wear (35%) compared to Millennials (43%), with Gen X (22%) close to historic norms.

Millennial reporting of significant contact lens wear (43%) paints a picture of what may be possible with Gen Z; the eight-point gap represents considerable unmet upside in patient volumes, practice revenue, and wearer lifestyle benefits. So too does another measure, which indicated that among dual wearers (i.e., patients who use both glasses and contact lenses), Millennials use their contact lenses seven percent more often than Gen Z (52% to 45%, respectively).

Beyond statistically significant differences that show Millennials appreciating contact lenses’ comfort and ease of use more than Gen Z, pandemic-influenced short-term changes in practice visit frequency and prescribing may have had a greater long-term impact on a younger population. Reasoning for the variation will be more deeply explored in follow-up reports as data continues to be analyzed.

Distinct Purchase Drivers

In an attempt to understand how Gen Z may be distinctive from older populations when it comes to choosing a product or service, CLI asked respondents to indicate the importance of eight values-centered factors in their decision-making, whether for eye care or otherwise.

The three values ranked highest across all ages: affordability (85-89%), convenience of purchase (69-73%), and speed to obtain the product (66-71%). This infers that the eye care community should continue to optimize for these, knowing they’ll be received positively by the vast majority of patients and customers.

However, four values demonstrated higher influence among Gen Z and Millennials versus Gen X: brand authenticity (Z: 63%, M: 63%, X: 54%), individual expression and personalization opportunities (Z: 58%, M: 55%, X: 45%), brand social responsibility (Z: 51%, M: 47%, X: 33%), and living for today (Z: 48%, M: 48%, X: 39%). All four present areas for practices to tailor their communications and marketing activities to better engage younger populations.

The Importance of Social Responsibility

The social responsibility factor exhibited the greatest variability between Gen Z and Gen X—an 18-point span. The CLI survey asked all respondents about the importance of particular social values on their choice of eye care practice and eye care products, revealing multiple opportunities for the eye care community to lean into existing and new initiatives.

When it comes to choosing eye care practices, about one in two Gen Z respondents said that inclusive culture (52%), environmental responsibility (49%), and doctor diversity (47%) were extremely or very important, with staff diversity, philanthropic initiatives, and community involvement ranking slightly lower (43%, 42%, and 42%, respectively).

For eye care products, environmental/sustainability (46%), inclusivity (44%), and diversity (43%) initiatives ranked highest, followed by social justice (40%) and philanthropic initiatives (39%).

While Millennial responses generally mirrored Gen Z, although to a slightly lesser extent, Gen X responses hovered from the mid-20% to low 30% range.

Loyalty Among Contact Lens Wearers

There’s no doubt about it: contact lens wearers across all generations are more likely to remain with their current eye care professional compared to glasses wearers.

Gen Z and Millennial contact users have a nine and eight point loyalty advantage compared to their glasses-wearing peers. Yet for Gen X, that advantage soars to a 23% advantage—almost eight in 10 contact lens wearers ages 45-60 believe it is very or extremely important to remain with their existing doctor or practice.

The elements that encourage a vision corrected respondent to remain loyal are broadly similar regardless of age, including a sense that the provider understands the patients’ needs, delivers good cost and value, and offers both convenience and ease of access for services.

Contact Lens Advancements and Younger Generations

All survey participants (n=1,308) were asked to indicate their interest in eight broad categories of contact lens advancements. With limited exception, Gen Z and Millennials responses of being “extremely” or “very” interested were similar, favoring UV absorption/protection (Z: 52%, M: 55%), reusable contact lenses (Z: 49%, M: 50%), torics (Z: 49%, M: 49%), and contact lenses designed for digital device use (Z: 47%, M: 49%).

Conversely, Gen X responses were more muted, with percentages lower by double digits compared to the younger generations. Even when queried about multifocal contact lenses for presbyopia, 36% of Gen X reported being extremely or very interested (their highest-ranked category, tied with UV absorption) versus 41% of Millennials. This implies the need for continued outreach to Gen X about the latest generation of multifocal designs, plus the opportunity to begin discussions earlier with Millennials about presbyopia and multifocal advantages.

The difference between Gen Z and Millennial interest in reusable contact lenses (Z: 49%, M: 50%) contrasted with daily disposable / 1 day lens interest (Z: 35%, M: 41%) is also notable, possibly resulting from new category entrants, the prevalence of daily prescribing in the U.S. and Canada that makes the modality expected, and even economic considerations.

Vision Expo West 2025 Main Stage Panel

Four CLI Visionaries will take to the Vision Expo West main stage on Thursday, September 18, from 2:30 – 3 pm PT to discuss the initial findings. Shifting Focus: How the Next Generation Sees Contact Lens Wear and Eye Care features Harbir Sian, OD, the co-owner of Clarity Eyecare and Highstreet Eyecare Center in Vancouver, B.C., Jenn Seymour, LDO, NCLE-AC, ABO-AC, president of the Opticians Association of Nevada; Andrew Bruce, LDO, ABOM, NCLEM, FCLSA, the founder of ASB Opticianry Education Services in Vancouver, Wash.; and Jade Coats, OD, FAAO, the 2025 Theia Awards of Excellence Young OD of the Year co-honoree.

The panel will double as a taping for The 20/20 Podcast, hosted by Dr. Sian, with the episode to air in the coming weeks.