Keep your eyes open: how AI and nostalgia are driving up eyewear sales

Last year, the eyewear market was one of the few luxury product categories to show growth, consultancy Bain & Company reckoned . This year, judging by the reporting of public companies in the sector, the trend is continuing.

The world's largest eyewear manufacturer, EssilorLuxottica, which owns, among others, the Ray-Ban and Oakley brands and produces eyewear under license for Prada and Miu Miu, reported adjusted revenue of 14 billion euros for the first half of 2025, up 7.3% at constant exchange rates. And sales of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses jumped more than 200%.

Safilo Group, which makes optics under the Carrera, David Beckham, Polaroid, and BOSS brands, wrote in its H1 2025 report that strong demand for diopter eyeglass frames in all key markets helped it offset weaker sunglasses sales as consumers spent less and the company aggressively organized promotions. Its net revenue for the first six months of 2025 was €537.6 million, up 2.3% on a currency-adjusted basis, while adjusted profit jumped almost 40% year-on-year to €33.7 million. The Asia-Pacific region led the way, with sales up 14.7% in the first half of 2025.

Warby Parker, another major eyewear and contact lens maker, reported net revenue growth in the second quarter of this year of nearly 14% year-over-year to $214.5 million. The company's number of active customers increased 9% over the past year through June inclusive, with revenue per customer up 4.6% to $316.

The largest fashion conglomerates are also recording growth in eyewear sales. For example, Kering, which owns the brands Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, Balenciaga, in its report for the first half of 2025 reported a 39% drop in operating profit from continuing operations for the entire group, and a 52% drop for the Gucci brand. But the eyewear segment saw growth of 25%. Prada, in its report for the first half of 2025, also indicates that royalties (license sales, which includes eyewear) grew by 10%. This category showed the biggest growth, with overall net sales up 9% at constant exchange rates.

This trend was not ignored by investors - EssilorLuxottica shares rose more than 20% over the year, Warby Parker added 75% over the year, Safilo Group - more than 22%.

So why are eyeglass sales on the rise?

Once a secondary category, in 2024 the eyewear segment grew faster than bags and clothing, states the profile publication Business of Fashion.

One reason is that eyewear has become a more affordable way to indulge yourself, compared to other luxury product categories. Consumers have become more cautious about their spending due to economic uncertainty, and buying accessories, including eyewear, is a more affordable option compared to more expensive clothing and handbags.

"Consumers have pretty little money, and that's led to a boom in the accessories market because they're easier to buy," Jessica Ramirez, co-founder of research firm The Consumer Collective told BoF.

In addition, eyewear retailers and manufacturers have succeeded in attracting customers with a penchant for nostalgia and those who appreciate the heritage of brands.

BoF cites the Moscot brand as an example. Founded by Jewish natives of Belarus and opening its first office in the Lower East Side back in 1915, Moscot continues to rely on the audience of New York dandies, just as it did a hundred years ago. Another example is Oakley. The brand has broken sales records five years in a row, its target audience being people with active lifestyles and a penchant for nostalgia, Kaio Amato, who heads the brand, told BoF. The brand's sales growth in recent seasons is largely due to the release of nostalgic models like the updated Eye Jacket frame from 1994 or the new Plantaris, inspired by the late '90s lineup, BoF said.

In addition to changing consumer behavior and nostalgia, there is another reason for sales growth in the optics segment. And that is artificial intelligence.

Technology is beginning to play an important role in the eyewear sector, Ramirez said.

First of all, we are talking about smart glasses with AI integrated into them. Here, EssilorLuxottica has perhaps the loudest and most successful collaboration with Meta. This partnership is now six years old. In early July this year, Bloomberg reported that Meta became a minority shareholder in EssilorLuxottica and bought just under 3% of its shares for about $3.5 billion. According to the agency's sources, it may increase its stake to 5%.

It all started with a collaboration between Meta and Ray-Ban. The companies released their first pair of smart glasses in 2021, and the second generation of the device came out in 2023. According to the head of EssilorLuxottica Francesco Milleri, consumers have bought 2 million pairs of such glasses since 2023, the company plans to increase their production to 10 million pieces per year by the end of 2026, writes CNBC. The price for different models ranges from $299 to $379 per pair.

By the end of 2025, the third generation of Ray-Ban smart glasses is planned to be released - it is possible that they will be presented at the Meta Connect 2025 exhibition in mid-September.

In June, CNBC wrote that EssilorLuxottica and Meta were planning to release smart glasses under the Prada brand. For Meta, this partnership is very convenient from a technical point of view - many Prada models have a distinctive feature of wide frames, which means that they can accommodate more chips and microphones necessary for smart glasses, CNBC wrote, citing former Meta employees. In addition, the partnership will mean the techno-giant's entry into the luxury fashion segment, CNBC notes.

In June, Oakley unveiled its first smartglasses in collaboration with Meta at a starting price of $399. The brand, traditionally popular with snowboarders, surfers, cyclists and other active lifestyle enthusiasts, has also released a limited-edition "gold" collection for the half-century anniversary of the brand, priced at $499 per pair. The Oakley Meta HSTN are available with Oakley's PRIZM lenses, which help athletes see better in changing light and weather conditions. The glasses have a longer battery life and an improved camera compared to the second-generation Ray-Ban Meta, CNBC writes. Smart glasses are equipped with AI, they are controlled by voice commands, can take photos and videos.

In the near future, Meta plans to release (also in partnership with EssilorLuxottica) even more advanced glasses with built-in augmented reality technology called Hypernova, equipped with either a built-in display or holographic projection. They are expected to cost around $800, Barron's writes. If the glasses are a hit, they will be a valuable source of revenue for Meta in this sector, the publication adds.

Overall, global smartglass shipments grew at a 110% CAGR in the first half of 2025, according to Counterpoint. Meta is the undisputed leader in this market - its share grew to 73% in the first half of 2025, despite the launch of new products by other companies.

But competitors are trying to win back a part of this market. In late Ma, Warby Parker announced that it had entered into a partnership agreement with Google to develop smart glasses, under which the latter will allocate $150 million to the optics manufacturer.

Google this May partnered with China's Xreal Inc. to unveil Project Aura, the first smart glasses that will be powered by Android XR. They may go on sale by the end of this year.

China's Xiaomi also launched Xiaomi AI Glasses in June this year, and they have become a "dark horse" in the global market, immediately becoming the fourth best-selling model overall and the third best-selling product in the AI glasses segment, points out Flora Tan, senior analyst at Counterpoint. She attributes these sales results to strong support from tech enthusiasts and Mi gadget fans in China.

Apple is developing its own smart glasses, but they are not scheduled for release until 2026, Bloomberg writes.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor