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By Deirdre Carroll
Senior Editor

Marge Axelrad
Editorial Director


NEW YORK--1.407 billion people is a staggering number. According to Internet World Stats, as of March 31, 2008, that’s the number of people using the Internet worldwide.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank that researches the impact of the Internet on various U.S. groups, found that in September 2007, 74 percent of American adults were Internet users, as compared to only 48 percent in mid-2000.

Given these numbers, it’s clear our reliance on the Internet is undeniable and the importance of it in many aspects of our lives is growing.

 
AllAboutVision.com has had 35 million visitors since its inception eight years ago.
In addition to media and entertainment, news and information and the phenomenon of social “communities” online, two of the most significant areas today in which the Web affects our lives are the way we shop and how we deal with and get access to medical and health information.

Considering the optical industry’s strong ties to both retail and health care, Vision Monday is beginning to explore how conventional retailers, ECPs, organizations and suppliers are extending their brands, sales and connections with consumers and patients via the Internet. We are also looking at how online retailers are embracing new Web “2.0” concepts--those sites, accelerated by the advent of high-speed broadband, feature enhanced creativity, information-sharing and, notably, collaboration among users. These are technology benefits that have led to the use of social-networks and blogs--which are transforming traditional ideas of influence, access and sales.

But there are issues to contend with. For example, how are some sites overcoming the limitations of selling technology and Rx-specific products via the Internet? Further, there is another universe of issues within the business-to-business “b2b” Internet world: how are systems integrations transforming the way suppliers and buyers interact to communicate education, training and product purchasing?


In this Cover Story, we’ll look at the big picture, and at how some eyewear and eyecare organizations are rethinking how they communicate with consumers using the Internet.

The “E-Doctor” Is In
At the 2nd Annual Vision Monday Leadership Summit held earlier this spring, technology speaker Lynn O’Connor Vos, CEO and president of Grey Healthcare, told attendees that 45 percent of consumers are now getting their healthcare information online, nearly double the 23 percent that report getting their information directly from health care professionals.

“We are seeing a major shift in the way consumers consume health care, where they seek information, who they get advice from and who they are listening to,” said Vos. In fact, Vos noted that in the 30 days leading up to the April 9 VM Summit, there were 73,831 blog posts related to the terms “eyewear,” “eyecare,” “eye doctor,” “eyeglasses,” “eye health” and “eye exam” and, in the week leading up to the event, there were 126,000 Google searches alone on these topics. Mark Penn in his 2007 book, Microtrends, noted, “The biggest trend in American health care is ‘Do-It-Yourself-Doctors.’ These are people who research their own symptoms, diagnose their own illnesses, and administer their own cures.”

 

Kaiser Permanente’s Homepage, kp2020.org, shows members all of the eyecare options available to them.

While finding accurate and reliable online health care information remains a challenge, consumers are turning to the Internet to find things out and in many cases to locate professionals they trust. The Pew Internet Project corroborates the growth of this phenomenon. Its Online Health Search report from 2006 contended that 80 percent of American Internet users, or 113 million adults, have searched online for health information.

The number of patients turning to the Web for eye health information has prompted companies to explore this new health care frontier and given rise to sites like WebMD.com’s Eye Health portal, AOL Body’s Eye Care Condition Center and AllAboutVision.com. According to Ron Walker, president of All About Vision, the site, developed as an independent source of information about eye health and eyewear, has served some 35 million visitors since its inception eight years ago, and forecasts more than 8 million visitors in 2008.

A big believer in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Walker said, “We are very search driven; our stats run parallel to Internet searches in general and the most popular parts of our site reflect consumers’ overwhelming interest in contact lenses and LASIK. Then they are looking for basic info on eyeglasses--what to buy, what their options are, what they need to know--and then we are really seeing our searches for info on conditions and diseases really jump. And we welcome ECPs to link to our site from theirs. Some 7,000 people per month check us out for that, to locate eye doctors.”

In fact, ECPs’ own Web sites can be a source of patient education and/or a source of bolstering connection to existing patients. Stated Walker, “For most ECPs, their Web site is a service tool. On one level, they are communicating through it to prospective patients and the site sends a marketing message. On another level, Web sites enable doctors to be there 24/7 for their patients; they can pre-survey their needs, use it for appointment scheduling, for providing forms and support materials to the in-office visit, and the convenience of online ordering for replacement contacts--any number of reasons to keep that connection.”

Connecting...to a Brand
On that level--that of extending a “real world” brand to a community of users, patients or customers who interact online--brand extension is taking on a new meaning via the Internet. In some cases, the development of a brand, or the establishment of a consumer community around one, is accelerated with new online tools and concepts.

 
Luxottica Retail’s, PearleVision.com, which is undergoing a redesign, focuses on eyecare topics.
In other cases, the practice or organization’s Web site is one way of stamping an existing brand and extending real-world retail or eyecare presence via the Internet. At Kaiser Permanente, using the Web to build a cohesive identity for Kaiser’s “Vision Essentials” vision business for the HMO’s millions of members, has become a major initiative throughout the organization. Kathy Torrence, product line manager, Kaiser Permanente Eye Care Services, Northern California, said the group’s site mission is “comprehensive eyecare meets individual style.” There, the message is for Kaiser’s members to get great medical care from Kaiser Permanente MDs and optometrists plus learn more about a great selection of eyewear.

“We conducted focus groups to see what members needed and now this program, which started in Northern California, is national and all of Kaiser’s regions are on the Web site,” said Torrence. The goal was for the imagery to tie in to Kaiser Permanente’s “Thrive” branding program and the features of the site are many, including an Eye Health Encyclopedia that connects to the Kaiser home site and others that get them thinking about the eyewear they can choose from when they come in for their visits.


 

Kaiser Permanente’s Virtual Frame Board helps members learn about the eyewear selection available to them.

“We have a Virtual Frame Board that lets them search by designer or by brand or by style characteristics and Find Your Perfect Eyewear asks them a series of quick questions they can answer, print out and bring with them to their appointment,” added Torrence. Our goal was for them to be able to learn more about the selection and options available to them as Kaiser members. And it’s working to help change perceptions about our business.”

Luxottica Retail maintains separate and distinctly brand-oriented Web sites for most of its retail chains: www.lenscrafters.com, www.pearlevision.com, www.searsoptical.com, www.sunglasshut.com and www.iloristyle.com. (Its licensed Target Optical locations are accessible through the main Target Web site.

The sites--which offer consumers information on both eyewear and eyecare under a variety of headings--have been designed to reflect the market positions of Luxottica’s various retail brands. For example, the LensCrafters site has a strong fashion orientation, highlighting areas such as New & Now (a changing style portfolio, heavily skewed toward prescription sunwear for Summer 2008), Eyewear 101 (helping site visitors select eyewear by face shape, color, material and style details) and Frame Personality (a quiz to help consumers determine their best eyewear looks).

The Pearle Vision site--currently undergoing “a major redesign,” according to the company--is more eyecare-oriented, to match that chain’s positioning. The site features prominent mention of the Optomap retinal exams offered by the Pearle stores; Pearle’s Web site also has a stronger emphasis on eyecare, including an Eye Education section incorporating an Interactive Guide to the Conditions of the Eye and a “virtual eye exam,” as well as a separate Kids Corner area with information on children’s eyecare.

In addition to product and eyecare information, the LensCrafters, Pearle Vision and Sears Optical sites all now offer online exam scheduling as a consumer convenience. LensCrafters launched online exam scheduling in December 2006, as part of a major redesign of that Web site. Pearle started online scheduling in December 2007; Sears Optical began offering online scheduling in September 2007, following a redesign/relaunch of its site last July.

Click to Buy
Shop.org’s 11th Annual 2008 State of Retailing Online study, conducted by Forrester Research, found that in a year where retail sales are expected to suffer due to the slow down of the economy, online retail will continue to grow with sales rising 17 percent to $204 billion.

 
Jobson Internet Solutions, jis.jobson.com, builds and enhances Web sites for the optical industry.
The Pew Internet Project also found in their February 2008 Online Shopping study that the number of Americans who had ever bought a product online as of September 2007 was 49 percent, up from just 22 percent in 2000. In fact, that same study concluded that 93 percent of online users have done something related to e-commerce, be it using the Internet to research goods or services or to make purchases.

“Today, online consumers think nothing of shopping across a retailer’s stores, Web site and catalog,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, Multi-Channel Retailing, “As a consequence, online product research is driving more in-store sales than online sales.”

eMarketer, an online destination for market research and trend analysis on the Internet, projected in November 2007 that the percentage of Internet users who have made an online purchase will continue to rise steadily through 2011.

“With consumers showing such strong acceptance of online shopping, retailers are stepping up their commitment to the channel,” noted Joe Savarese, vice president of Jobson’s Internet Solutions division, which builds and enhances Web sites for suppliers, ECPs and retailers, both online and traditional. “Such consumer acceptance is forcing retailers to realize that if they are to survive the retail market of the 21st Century, they must take their Web strategies into the mainstream of the consumer culture.”

 

FramesDirect.com’s homepage featuring walk-on video technology of CEO and founder Dhavid Cooper, OD.

“Having a huge selection is just one of the advantages of the Internet sales model versus the selection available on the dispensary board. Features like virtual try-on tools have become popular, but a properly designed Web site that provides both a positive and intuitive first-time user experience is critical, as is a site that is optimized for search engine recognition to build traffic for the site.”

“Retailers are changing so that they can benefit from the shift in consumer spending,” Savarese added. “Big chains are bringing a new-found zeal to online retailing, redesigning sites, adding new features and capabilities and pumping resources into marketing. Online-only merchants are responding with their own renewed commitment to the Internet, innovating with products, customer service, content and marketing,” he said.

Optical e-Tailing
Optical retailers, both traditional and online-only, are taking heed. “Today, the Internet is central to how consumers shop, whether researching and ‘pre-shopping,’ making a purchase on-line or engaging in post-shopping behaviors such as posting ratings or reviews about a purchase or product on Web sites, group discussion boards, blogs, etc.,” added Patricia Sharp, director of Web marketing for Luxottica Retail.


"We believe purchasing and online engagement with consumers will continue to grow rapidly across all industries and categories,” Sharp added. “More businesses will become ‘multi-channel retailers,’ incorporating the Web channel into their business strategies to make it easy for customers to shop where they want, when they want and how they want. Likewise, each of our retail brands continues to explore and evaluate what is right for that retail brand and our customers as it relates to providing eyecare and eyewear information, selling products online and engaging customers in a retail brand experience.”

 
EyeBuyDirect.com’s Wall of Frames allows visitors to get instant feedback on their frame choice before purchasing.
Jobson Research has not yet been able to quantify online eyewear retail sales, which can include frames, sunglasses, Rx lens and eyeglass purchases. However, in the 2007 Internet Influence Report conducted by The Vision Council and Jobson Research in June 2007, 52 percent of respondents/ consumers had used the Internet to examine possible brands and types of eyeglasses prior to purchasing their last pair. Some 28 percent said they used it to examine possible eyewear retailers and nearly 33 percent said they used the Internet to compare and benchmark prices for specific brands or eyewear retailers. Of those who responded, almost 5 percent purchased their eyewear directly over the Internet and 67 percent of them did so from an online-only eyewear retailer, like EyeBuyDirect.com or FramesDirect.com.

In some cases, online-only sites are “price” driven. For others, the information and interactive content move them in another direction.

EyeBuyDirect.com is a prescription eyeglass Web site launched in 2005 by Roy Hessel, founder and CEO. EyeBuyDirect.com offers visitors Frame Personality quizzes, trend reports and color forecasting, instructions on measuring for an accurate fit and the EyeTry “Wall of Frames,” an online social shopping section that not only allows visitors to virtually try on frames but to post their photo, or e-mail it to friends, in order to receive instant feedback prior to their final selection.

While choosing the right pair of glasses is a question of personal taste, the opinions of friends, family, and even strangers certainly can help make the final choice much easier,” explained Hessel. “The Web makes it possible to hear the opinions of the people we value most and the general public, which can feel much more genuine than the feedback of an in-store salesperson.”

 

FramesDirect.com’s EyeZone Blog page provides news, announcements and insights into FramesDirect.com.

FramesDirect.com is taking the eyewear e-tailing concept one step further. Founded in 1996 by Dhavid Cooper, OD, and Guy Hodgson, OD, FramesDirect has embraced the online retail medium beyond just selling the 116,000 products they carry. The site also features “walk-on” animated video technology that explains the Web site’s features and highlights some brands; a FrameFinder Virtual Try-On system, which gives visitor the ability to upload a photo of themselves to see how each pair of frames will look on them; The EyeZone Blog, which provides news, insights, announcements, and a glimpse inside FramesDirect.com; as well as a large social networking component that includes the ability to follow the blog through Twitter and link to the Web site through their Facebook Fan page.

“Essentially, we’ve had to learn how to run a technology company that has expertise in optical products and services,” said Dhavid Cooper, OD, co-founder and CEO of FramesDirect.com.

“We have invested, and continue to invest, millions of dollars into Web development and improvements annually. We continually re-invest in improving technology, hardware and software, and have a dedicated team of specialists who are customer focused and service oriented--and while we have and continue to enjoy the journey we embarked on over a decade ago, it’s not for the faint of heart,” Cooper said. ■