The global Contact Lens Solutions market is projected to reach US$3 billion by the year 2027, trailing a CAGR of 2.8% over the analysis period 2020 through 2027.The market is expected to benefit from the projected US$15.7 billion opportunity by 2027 for contact lenses. Incidence of refractive errors is on the rise globally among both men and women. Increasing digital screen time accompanying the increased use of computers, smartphones & tablets is playing a key role in myopia development. With the pandemic showing no signs of receding schools the world over have adopted digital teaching methods. Online classes & digital notes and homework have increased the average screen time of a child by over 4 to 5 hours per day. Increased digital screen viewing increases risk of myopia among younger children with developing structure of the eye. A public health crisis of evolving proportions, treatment for myopia & presbyopia will witness increasing demand. Risks of surgical intervention will drive preference for eyeglasses & contact lenses. Contact lenses will receive higher preference due to aesthetic benefits & improved vision. Pediatric contact lenses are growing in popularity on the back of improved awareness & knowledge about right usage. Under this scenario contact lens solutions will witness parallel increase in demand. Trends in the contact lens sector are quite similar across most global markets. However, in terms of wearer base, regional markets exhibit varying rates.

The 'wearer base' is a basic measure of penetration of contact lenses in a particular market. It represents the portion of people aged 15 or above that use contact lenses in a given population. The United States is the largest market in terms of wearer base with about 45 million using contact lenses. Of these, the number of soft lens wearers exceeds 34 million. In Japan, total population of contact lens wearers is around 17 million, representing 15% of adults. Both the US and Japan together account for over 40% of all contact lens wearing population worldwide. Europe has the next largest wearer base for contact lenses in the world. Women represent the largest user base for contact lenses largely due to the aesthetic benefits offered. Colored contact lenses in green, blue, brown, grey & turquoise are especially growing in popularity among women in the younger age groups of 18 to 28 years. Soft contact lens is the most preferred type of contact lens by women.

Market penetration is expected to increase across the world in future, primarily due to increased research and development efforts and new product innovations, which would continue to expand potential wearer base of contact lens. The market for contact lenses in the US, with a relatively higher penetration level, is more mature than rest of the world. Most future growth lies on non-US markets. Combined with lower penetration rates, the growing trend towards disposable soft contacts due to increasing availability of superior quality and competitively priced products offers considerable potential for growth. Teenagers, and younger people represent the prime targets of contact lens makers, the segments where significant research and development activity is underway. On an average, every year around 20% new potential consumers enter the market, including 10% representing new teen population and around 10% of unsatisfied patients that shift to advanced lenses. Teenage consumers generally substitute around 10% of patients in the age group of 40-50 years that discontinue using contacts and shift to eyeglasses and other modes of vision correction. As compared to males, females are the major users of contact lenses, accounting for about 2/3rd of the lenses prescribed. The proportion is as high as 78:22 in some of the Asian market such as Korea, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines.