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Low vision: new growth lever for opticians?

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Often ill-favored opticians, because it is considered time-consuming and unprofitable, the low vision affects millions of people in France. To improve the lives of these people, many visual aids exist. Opticians, why not integrate these solutions into your stores?

What is low vision?

Selon the WHO, low vision means clustering "visual acuity less than 3/10 and Greater than or equal to 1/20, the best and the best eye correction". But in practice, what does it mean? There are different categories of low vision (from average to almost total). In the case of an average visual impairment , people in their environment, but still retain some of their visual abilities. In the case of a near total visual impairment , blindness is absolute. Between these two categories, there are many nuances.

To have a more concrete definition, it is necessary to turn towards the professionals of optics . Selon VOILLEMIN Pascal, head of marketing tools at Essilor and speaking at a round table of OL mag on the subject, the field covered by low vision is much more extensive. Selon _him_, It Would all the people concerned For Whom the conventional glasses are not enough anymore and are THUS in loss of visual autonomy. They will then turn to the solution of complementary visual aids .

Fight against low vision

low vision

There are still different solutions to help people with low vision regain their independence. Among them, magnifying magnifying glasses , intended for all the more comfortable reading for people who have a slight loss of vision . For those who suffer from a greater loss of vision, there are also tele-magnifiers , which allow to obtain greater magnifications. For even greater magnifi- cation, some people are also turning to electronic magnifiers, which combines both camera and screen to magnify up to 50 times. Another solution: filtering glasses, dedicated to the visually impaired , which makes it possible to reduce glare.

Opticians: why develop these solutions?

Given the width of the target and the number of dedicated devices, it is immediately clear why some opticians have decided to include visual aids in their catalog. Indeed, offering your customers solutions with low vision has many advantages:

  • Position yourself as a visual health player and gain real expertise in low vision
  • Adopt a new communication with your customers
  • Reach a new clientele
  • Stand out from your competitors

low vision

Remember aussi That anyone touched by the low vision That will enter your shop, will discover your companion catalog à son … A new target not to be neglected!

A note, however, that you have to be able to offer solutions against low vision in stores, opticians must first perform a dedicated training. The Institute of Vision Sciences offers, in particular, a low vision training based on 6 sessions of 3 days.