Photo Credit: Getty Images. The Contact Lens Institute shares findings on research about the opportunity of fitting Gen Z in contact lenses.
Insights into fitting Gen Z in contact lenses
Oct. 1, 2025
New consumer research from the Contact Lens Institute (CLI) indicates substantial opportunity to increase contact lens adoption among Gen Z and identifies purchase drivers the eye care community can use to encourage use.
The data show a 35 percent contact lens wearing rate among Gen Z, 43 percent among Millennials and 22 percent among Gen X, an eight percentage point gap between Gen Z and Millennials.
Study Details
The findings, which was the focus of a main-stage panel at Vision Expo West 2025, offer a preview of broader cross-generational insights being developed as part of CLI’s See Tomorrow initiative. CLI surveyed 1,308 vision-corrected respondents in the U.S. and Canada during July and August 2025 across three generations: Gen Z (ages 15 to 28), Millennials (ages 29 to 44) and Gen X (ages 45 to 60).
CLI Perspective
“Since 2021 our See Tomorrow program has given the eye care community unique information and perspectives to help grow contact lens prescribing. To our knowledge, never before has work of this scale been conducted for contact lenses that also has implications for the entire eye care sector,” said Stan Rogaski, CLI’s executive director. “The takeaways can influence how practice teams and retailers shape their communications with current and potential patients alike. For instance, personal mindsets of Gen X owners or Millennial managers may not always align with the Gen Z customer, prompting new approaches.”
Gen Z Opportunity
Millennial reporting of significant contact lens wear, at 43 percent, suggests what may be possible with Gen Z. The eight percentage point gap represents considerable unmet upside in patient volumes, practice revenue and wearer lifestyle benefits. Among dual wearers — patients who use both glasses and contact lenses — Millennials use contact lenses 7 percentage points more often than Gen Z, 52 percent versus 45 percent.
Reasons for the Gap
Beyond statistically significant differences showing Millennials value contact lenses’ comfort and ease of use more than Gen Z, pandemic-related short-term changes in practice visit frequency and prescribing may have had a greater long-term impact on younger cohorts. CLI says reasons for the variation will be explored in follow-up reports as it continues to analyze the data.
