Company: WRBY
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001504776-25-000010
Chunk: 21

Company: Warby Parker Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 21
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93% of people aged 65 and older wear corrective lenses, as older adults require more vision correction.

•Consistent replenishment cycle: Glasses wearers purchase new glasses approximately every two years, according to the Vision Council. Additionally, an estimated 51 million people in the United States wear contact lenses that are typically disposable, replaced on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, driving frequent repurchase. Approximately 80% of contacts wearers purchase contact lenses at least once per year. 

•Increasing screen time usage: With the rising usage of smartphones, tablets, computers, and other devices, three out of four adults report experiencing digital eye strain at some point during the day, contributing significantly to increased vision correction needs and a steady influx of new customers within the eyewear market.

•Acceleration of e-commerce penetration: While e-commerce penetration is at an all-time high in the U.S. and abroad, it is relatively small in the eyewear industry, representing approximately 10% of prescription eyeglasses sales in 2024 according to The Vision Council.

•Increasing prominence of telehealth: The Vision Council reported that over 50% of adults that use eye products would be interested in having a virtual or telehealth eye exam. Direct-to-consumer telehealth is expected to grow at a rate of approximately 30% per year, reflecting an evolution of consumer preferences from in-person to remote medical care.

We believe these factors contribute to rising vision correction needs and a steady influx of new customers who expect an exceptional vision care experience. Industry-wide, a significant portion of customers who use prescription glasses or contacts purchase them from their prescriber. By contrast, the majority of our customers have historically obtained their prescriptions from non-Warby Parker doctors, underscoring the opportunity to expand our own optometric and telehealth services and offer these services to more of our customers. While Warby Parker currently has relationships with only a few vision care insurers in the United States, the majority of our optometric services are covered, in part, as out-of-network services by vision care insurers and major carriers. Our Virtual Vision Test is not covered by vision insurance, but we believe customers will continue to use our telehealth services given the convenience and modest cost. To the extent we expand to partner with more vision care insurers, we will have to negotiate with each individual insurer for coverage of the cost of our optometric and telehealth services, which may incur additional time, cost, and resources.

Ripe for Change

The eye care industry has largely been slow to