More BrandsThe annual report prepared by Contact Lens Spectrum (CLS) showed that the global contact lenses market enjoyed good health in 2012. The publication uses a number of sources to evaluate market growth and trends, among them CLS research, industry reports and insights from industry and financial analysts. The latest edition of the report includes data from Robert W Baird and GfK, whose research was used in the portions dealing with market value and regional rankings.
According to estimates from Robert W Baird, the global contact lens market was worth about $7.1 billion in 2012, with the US accounting for roughly $2.4 billion of that. Toric lenses grabbed about 20% of the total market, while multifocals had a market share of 5%. The bulk of the remaining sales was attributable to spherical lenses. Robert W Baird noted that daily disposable lenses kept on increasing their popularity in 2012 and accounted for around 39.5% of global sales in the first three quarters of the last year, as opposed to 37.5% for the whole of 2011. Another steadily growing category was that of silicone hydrogel lenses, with penetration reaching almost 50% in the first three quarters of 2012 against 43% for all of 2011.
North America is typically cited as the world’s biggest market for contact lenses. Data published by GfK last October showed that demand for contact lenses remained on a growth trajectory in various markets between July 2011 and June 2012. In terms of growth rate, GfK placed Asia at number one with an estimated increase of 7.4%. The respective growth rates for the US and Europe were 4.8% and 3.2%.
