Purchase Factors Drive Online Contact Lens Searches, According to New U.S. & Canadian Research

Wednesday, February 19 2025 | 08 h 30 min | News

New research from the Contact Lens Institute (CLI) indicates that purchase factors are the primary driver of consumer online contact lens-related searches in the U.S. and Canada, representing 65% of top 20 query volumes. The latest installment of CLI’s See Tomorrow initiative also suggests there is considerable need to enhance patient education specific to contact lens removal, as well as to amplify discussions surrounding dual wear, i.e., patients situationally shifting between contact lenses and glasses.

The initial findings from the Digital Discovery: Consumer Searches Reveal Contact Lens Realities study are being shared during Vision Expo East in Orlando this week. Additional data and insights are expected to be made public over the coming months.

“Since 2021, our See Tomorrow program has unearthed a range of information about current and prospective contact lens wearers, all of which can help the eye care community deliver a better patient experience and elevate practice success. Heading into 2025, we’ve turned our attention to consumer perceptions and needs as revealed through their online search habits—a window into what they are thinking yet may not be telling their eye doctors, opticians, and staff.”

Stan Rogaski, executive director, Contact Lens Institute

Among the top 20 contact lens-related searches on Google, 10 were purchase oriented, representing 65% of total volume. Of those, five pertained to specific contact lens retailers (53.5% by volume) and four pertained to price (9.75% by volume). That prevalence implies that practices may benefit from proactively discussing purchase dynamics ahead of and during exams, not waiting until a patient reaches the optical center. This includes price-performance alternatives and total cost—elements that prior CLI research found were important to current wearers.

CLI also reported that consumers online are seeking help removing their contact lenses at least twice as often as insertion. The topic was the second-highest ranked “how to” contact lens search on Google (26.3% by volume) and the first-and third-highest ranked search on TikTok (61% by volume). Over a two-month span, Google searches about removal outpaced searches about insertion by 250% to 400%, and this was consistent among both U.S. and Canadian consumers. The findings suggest that additional emphasis on removal techniques may be warranted during in-office I&R training, as well as pointedly asking about removal challenges during post-fit check-ins.

The third topic shared by CLI focused on unfulfilled dual wear opportunities, which the organization quantified in 2023 as representing 36% of all patients. Analysis of top 20 comparative searches on Google for contact lenses finds that 80% use an “or” conjunction, in contrast to 14% for “vs” and 6% for “and”—with the vast majority of contact lens comparisons being made to glasses/spectacles (94%) as opposed to LASIK (6%). Shifting that perspective may be aided if practices develop more intentional processes to prompt dual wear conversations during exams, as well as during ongoing communications with patients between visits.

On Friday, February 21, at 10 a.m. ET on the Vision Expo East Main Stage, CLI will host a review of its most recent data. The Digital Discovery: Consumer Searches Reveal Contact Lens Realities panel features 2025 CLI Visionaries Roxanne Achong-Coan OD, FAAO, FIAOMC, FSLS, Dip CCLRT, of Coan Eye Care and Optical Boutique in Ocoee, Fla.; Ryan Corte, OD, of Northlake Eye in Charlotte and Asheville, N.C.; and Nishan Pressley, OD, of Essential Eyecare & Optical in Apopka, Fla., moderated by Charissa Lee, OD, MBA, FAAO, the 2025 CLI Board chairperson.

CLI conducted the digital search research using Google “contact lenses” auto-complete results for U.S. and Canada, and TikTok auto-complete results in English, sourced via AnswerThePublic.com, with data collected weekly from January 3-31, 2025. Auto-complete suggestions employ language, location, and trending user behaviors to suggest the most searched phrases over the past several weeks. In addition, CLI analyzed Google Trends data for December 1, 2024, to January 31, 2025. Google Trends reports relative rankings of search terms over a defined period, using completed user behaviors, plus rank-ordered related topics and searches from the same user sample.