When asked directly, without any prompts or the ability to examine specific frames, most eyeglass wearers (53.1 percent) reported that they are not willing to spend extra money for a pair of eyeglass frames that are produced by a top-name designer, according The Vision Council’s VisionWatch Fashion vs. Function Eyewear Report. This is similar to other findings in previous Vision Council research efforts, as well as the results from the 2008 Fashion and Function Study. Approximately 11.1 percent of all eyeglass wearers reported that they would “definitely” be willing to pay extra money for a pair of frames produced by a top-name designer and just over one-third (35.7 percent) would “possibly” be willing to pay extra for a pair of frames produced by a top-name designer.
The purpose of visual merchandising is to inform, to encourage your patient to explore and ultimately to motivate a patient to make a purchase. Does your optical do this? Let’s find out. Walk into your optical and just look. What do you see? Go through this checklist from a patient’s perspective to grade the visual merchandising of your optical. Does your optical …
Visually inform?
Y N Do easy-to-read signs direct you?
Y N Can you locate your desired category?
Y N Do you know what to do next?
Encourage your patient to explore?
Y N Are there visually interesting displays that draw you to them?
Y N Are special frames highlighted at strategic locations?
Y N Can you co-ordinate and accessorize?
Motivate your patient to make a purchase?
Y N Are the frames and lenses clean so that you want to put them on your face?
Y N Is enough product displayed to make you feel you don’t have to look elsewhere?
Y N Are enough price points available so you feel you can find something in your price range?
You need to pay attention to this area because over 60 percent of the dollars coming into your practice come through the optical. That means any answer above that is a NO needs immediate attention. Improve your optical by improving your visual merchandising and you’ll find an immediate improvement in your capture rate and in your per patient income.
