Visionwatch Internet Influence Report November 2015
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VisionWatch Internet Influence Report November 2015 FOR MORE INFORMATION STEVE KODEY THE VISION COUNCIL 225 REINEKERS LANE, SUITE 700 ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314 thevisioncouncil.org 703-548-4560 2015 Vision Council internet Influence Report Table of Contents Overview of Methodology and Results .................................................................. 3 Key Points Executive Summary ............................................................................. 5 Detailed Question by Question Summary .............................................................. 9 Tabulated Results for All 10,343 Respondents ................................................... 21 Detailed Cross Tabulations .................................................................................. 37 Summary Graphs and Charts ............................................................................ 103 Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire .................................................................... 122 Appendix B: 2013 – 2015 Data Comparison ..................................................... 135 Table of Contents 2 2015 Vision Council internet Influence Report Overview of Methodology and Results In early 2007, The Vision Council, with the assistance of industry leaders and volunteers, developed an intensive questionnaire, subsequently updated to 26 questions, to survey the influence of the internet on the eyewear purchasing activities of Americans with easy-access to the internet. This survey was developed to gauge how consumers are using the internet, and the information available on the internet, when shopping for Rx eyeglasses, plano sunglasses, contact lenses and OTC readers. Since that time, The Vision Council has conducted the survey annually to determine trends in the usage and influence of the internet on their purchasing habits. These questions were appended to the November 2015 standard VisionWatch questionnaire that was sent to approximately 10,500 American adults. The sample was balanced and weighted during the analysis phase to be demographically and psycho- graphically representative of the U.S. population over the age of 18. A total of 10,343 complete, valid responses were received from adults who answered most questions and did not exhibit answer bias in their response pattern. The 10,343 respondents represent people who have purchased Rx eyeglasses, plano sunglasses, contact lenses and/or OTC readers within the previous six months (i.e. June through November 2015). The results and tabulations contained in this report are not all based on the complete sample size of 10,343 adults. In some cases, tabulations are based on a smaller number of participants when being interviewed about particular subjects; such as recent Rx eyeglass buyers (1,599), recent plano sunglass buyers (3,563), recent contact lens buyers (1,452) or recent OTC readers buyers (843). Minor corrections were made to the raw data before tabulations and analyses were performed to ensure the quality and integrity of the data. These corrections and modifications involved reclassifying demographic profiles, removing respondents who did not appear to contain genuine answers (i.e. people selecting the first response to all questions or not selecting any responses at all), and summarizing/collapsing answer responses into broader categories. In addition to providing tabulations on the 26 questions for all 10,343 respondents, a series of detailed cross tabulations were generated based on the entire VisionWatch database to get a better view of differences in the responses of various segments of the U.S. population. Detailed cross tabulations can be found on page 37 of this report. As mentioned above, the 10,343 respondents are representative of the U.S. adult population over the age of 18; however, considering the methods used to collect the data, it is difficult to accurately develop national, aggregate projections from this survey. VisionWatch is an internet-based consumer study. Thus, the sample used in this survey represents a community of people with email and presumably easy access to the internet. The results of the survey are therefore only truly applicable to the American adult population that is already online and likely using the internet frequently for many different activities, including shopping. Projections or allusions to aggregate figures or behavior contained in this report are estimates and cannot be stated with absolute certainty. In the 2015 study the working sample size remained steady at 10,000+ respondents for the third year in a row (past reports prior to 2013 had sample sizes of 5,000-7,000 respondents). This has helped improve the accuracy and usefulness of the results. Many of the questions are the same throughout all seven studies, although the battery of questions regarding contact lenses was new to the 2008 study. When applicable, there are comparisons to the 2013 and 2014 studies in the key points executive summary and the detailed summary on the following pages. Overview of Methodology and Results 3 2015 Vision Council internet Influence Report Key Points Executive Summary How are Americans using the internet when shopping for general retail goods? Most of the people polled continue to use the internet to some extent when shopping for general retail goods. This is to be expected considering the online nature of the survey and the higher propensity of survey respondents to have easy access to the internet. Browsing selected vendors when shopping for general retail goods, as well as selecting specific products to purchase, and conducting general product and pricing research are several functions performed by American consumers with the assistance of the internet. Almost 67% of the adults in our survey used the internet to directly purchase products at least occasionally, while less than 8% of the survey panel did not use the internet for any assistance when shopping for general retail goods. When compared to previous research (from our 2014 report), this year slightly fewer consumers are using the web to find selected vendors, select the specific product purchased purchase products directly online occasionally. Conversely, compared to 2014, relatively more consumers are using the internet to conduct basic research about the products they want to buy and an increasing in the number of adults using the internet to directly purchase products regularly (more than once per month) . Are Americans using the internet to any extent when purchasing eyewear? Despite a relatively high number of consumers using the internet to some extent when shopping for general retail goods, the practice is still not as prevalent when consumers are shopping for eyewear. Americans were most likely to use the internet when buying contact lenses, where 30.7% of recent buyers used the internet to any extent during their last contact lens purchase. Even fewer Rx eyeglass buyers (22.5%), plano sunglass buyers (20.9%) and OTC readers buyers (8.0%) used the internet for any assistance during their last purchase. There were certain groups of eyewear consumers (men, younger Americans, relatively affluent Americans, residents of the Mountain-Pacific region of the USA and people who recently bought eyewear from a conventional optical chain that were more likely than other consumers to have used the internet when last purchasing eyewear. After increasing significantly in 2011, the number of consumers using the internet to shop for and buy corrective eyewear continued to grow from 2012 through 2014 before rising strong in 2015—especially for contact lens users and Rx eyeglass users. What activities are Americans performing online when looking for new eyewear? When using the internet to search for eyewear, most Americans are usually window shopping online. In other words, they are conducting research and activities that are utilized to help them purchase eyewear in-person at a future date. People most often compare prices of eyewear. They also look to the internet to examine possible brands, and to examine possible retail locations where they might eventually make a purchase in-person. People are somewhat less likely to use the internet to select the exact brand of eyewear they will buy, or to select the exact retail location where they will make a purchase. Finally, a small number of consumers are using the internet to review customer ratings/satisfaction relating to eyewear or eyewear retailers. Over the past year, the number of people using the Internet to determine the exact, or potential, brand of eyewear they want to eventually purchase increased considerably—as did the number of consumers using the internet to examine customer reviews and satisfaction for specific types and brands of eyeglasses and the number of consumers directly purchasing eyewear online over the Internet. On the other hand, the number of consumers using the Internet to benchmark prices, and the number of consumers using the internet to Key Points Executive Summary 4 2015 Vision Council internet Influence Report search for the exact, and / or potential retailers of eyewear all decreased slightly. Over the past couple years; recent eyewear buyers are using the internet for more than one function when shopping online. About 57% of recent eyewear buyers reported using the internet to complete multiple tasks, up from 2008 through 2014. Moreover, using the internet for customer reviews of different retailers and direct eyewear online buying activity has surged over the past couple of years. What websites are