Millennials and Gen Z: How are they redefining the optical market?

With the arrival of Millennials and Gen Z at the heart of the optical market, consumer codes are rapidly evolving. These connected, demanding, and engaged generations are no longer satisfied with simply buying glasses to correct a visual impairment: they want style, meaning, and experience. This transformation is forcing optical professionals to fundamentally rethink their approach, or risk losing their appeal to a key audience for the future of the sector.

A hybrid shopping experience, between digital and human

Digital natives or those familiar with the internet early on, Millennials and Gen Z are adopting completely hybrid shopping journeys. Before heading to a store, they conduct extensive online research: reading reviews, comparing models, browsing brand or optician Instagram accounts, etc.

This autonomy in information modifies the role of the professional, who must now extend in store an experience that began well before the first physical contact.

However, despite the omnipresence of digital technology, these generations remain attached to human interaction when it is sincere and personalized. They expect expert advice, but in a position of egalitarian exchange. The physical store thus retains its relevance, provided it offers a seamless, modern, and embodied experience.

Style, meaning and authenticity

For younger generations, choosing a frame is also a gesture of personal affirmation and a marker of identity. Style, originality, and the ability to stand out have become criteria as important as comfort or optical quality. Added to this is a strong expectation of transparency: the origin of materials, manufacturing method, environmental commitments… all elements that weigh heavily in the purchasing decision.

Traditional major brands, sometimes perceived as disconnected or impersonal, are losing ground to independent labels and capsule collections driven by strong values. To attract these consumers, it's no longer enough to simply display a well-known brand: you have to tell a story, share a vision, and embody sincere commitments.

Why do independent brands appeal so much to Gen Z? Because they're perceived as authentic, creative, and committed. They offer original frames, often made locally or with eco-friendly materials, and communicate without artifice.

In the eyes of Gen Z, they therefore represent a refreshing alternative to the giants of the sector, sometimes accused of standardization or greenwashing.

A more conscious and demanding relationship with consumption

Finally, Millennials and Gen Z are questioning our very relationship with possessions. In a context of inflation, ecological emergency, and the quest for meaning, these generations prioritize quality over quantity, utility over ostentation. They seek products that are durable, repairable, and adaptable to different stages of their lives.

Screen glasses, modular frames, second-life or recycling systems: initiatives promoting more responsible consumption resonate strongly with them. More than just consumers, they want to be actors in a paradigm shift toward greater sustainability and responsibility.

Millennials and Gen Z are disrupting the traditional benchmarks of the optical market. Hyperconnected but attached to authenticity , sensitive to style but demanding on values, they demand professionals capable of combining technical expertise, seamless customer experience, and sincere commitment. Successfully meeting their expectations is not simply adapting to a passing trend: it is preparing the future of an entire sector which, more than ever, will have to be in step with the changes in society.