Cost, Purchase Factors, and Correct Usage Drive Online Contact Lens Searches
New research from the Contact Lens Institute (CLI) demonstrates that purchase factors–specificly contact lens retailers and price–are the primary driver of consumer online contact lens-related searches, representing 65% of top 20 searches in the United States and Canada. Other common searches include alternatives to contact lenses and proper lens removal techniques, suggesting an opportunity for greater education in-office.
This latest research is from CLI’s See Tomorrow initiative, a program designed to explore consumer and eye care professional perspectives on contact lens use. The initial findings are being presented this week at the Vision Expo East in Orlando, Florida.
“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,” Stan Rogaski, CLI’s executive director, said in a recent press release. “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.”
Among the top 20 contact lens-related searches on Google, five pertained to specific contact lens retailers (53.5% by volume) and four pertained to pricing (9.75% by volume). These findings suggest practices may benefit from proactively discussing purchasing dynamics to patients including total costs and price-performance alternatives – elements prior CLI research found to be important to current users.
Additionally, CLI reported that online consumers frequently search how to properly remove their contact lenses. 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). These searches were at least twice as more common than questions related to insertion. This highlights the need for greater emphasis on removal techniques in-office as well as more pointed questions during post-fit follow-up visits.
The third topic shared by CLI focused on unfulfilled dual wear opportunities – patients situationally switching between contact lenses and glasses. Analysis of the top 20 comparative searchers on Google for contact lenses showed that 80% use an “or” conjunction, in contrast to 14% for “vs” and 6% for “and” when comparing contact lenses to glasses/spectacles (94%) or LASIK (6%). Eye care professionals should consider prompting dual wear discussions to their patients and restructuring the narrative that contact lenses and glasses can be used in conjunction.
CLI conducted this 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. They will present their results on the Vision Expo East Main Stage on February 21, with additional insights expected in the coming months.