Summer Internship Project

On
An Exploratory Study Focusing on Consumer
Preferences towards Eyewear: A study in NCR
At
Vision Spring India

(Submitted towards partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the
Post Graduate Diploma in Management 2014-2016)

Submitted to
Prof Shallini Taneja
Faculty, FORE School of Management

Submitted by
Puneet Gupta
Roll no. 231107
FMG XXIII

FORE School of Management, New Delhi

Certificate

This is to certify that Mr Puneet Gupta Roll No 231107 has completed his summer internship
at vision Spring Delhi and has submitted this project report entitled Study of Indian
Consumers Preferences towards Eyewear towards part fulfilment of the requirements for
the award of the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (FMG-23) 2014-2016.
This Report is the result of his own work and to the best of my knowledge, no part of it
has earlier comprised any other report, monograph, dissertation or book. This project was
carried out under my overall supervision.
Date:
Place: New Delhi
Shallini Taneja

2|Page

Acknowledgment
I would like to thank everyone who helped me throughout this project and provided
their support and guidance.
Firstly, I would like to thank my faculty guide Prof Shallini Taneja for her support and
valuable inputs on how to go about the project. Secondly, I would like to thank Vision
Spring India for giving me an opportunity to do my internship and learn from some of
the great leadership in the industry. I take this opportunity to express my profound
gratitude and deep regards to my Industry mentor Mr. Rajeeb Das for his exemplary
guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout the internship.
Last but not the least I would like to thank Company staff to help me and providing
full cooperation and continuous support during the course of this assignment.
Thanks to FORE School Of Management for their belief and constant support. And
finally, I would like to thank each and every person who has contributed in any of the
ways in my training.

3|Page

Table of Contents
Certificate................................................................................................................................................ 2
Acknowledgment .................................................................................................................................. 3
Executive Summary................................................................................................................................. 6
Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 7
Eyewear industry in India.................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter2: Literature Review ................................................................................................................. 10
Objectives ............................................................................................................................................ 13
Chapter 3: Research Methodology ....................................................................................................... 14
Research Design ............................................................................................................................ 14
Chapter 4: Results and Analysis ............................................................................................................ 15
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Suggestions ........................................................................................ 24
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 24
Suggestions ....................................................................................................................................... 25
Limitations ....................................................................................................................................... 26
Annexure ............................................................................................................................................. 27
About Vision Spring........................................................................................................................... 27
References ...................................................................................................................................... 32
Questionnaire ................................................................................................................................... 34

4|Page

List of figures
Figure 1 Gender distribution of the respondents. 17
Figure 2 Age of the Respondents.. 18
Figure 3 Pair of eyeglasses people own... 19
Figure 4.Number of retailer customers shopped around...................... 19
Figure 5 Location... 20
Figure 6 - The influence of the optician.. 21
Figure 7- Influencing factors 21
Figure 8- Costumers buying online.... 22
Figure 9- satisfaction level of online purchase.. 23
Figure 10- Reasons behind buying eyewear.... 23
Figure 11 discounts/promotions. 24
Figure 12 online use of discount or promotion. 26
Figure 13 gender and influencers.......26

5|Page

Executive Summary
This project on Study of Indian Consumers Preferences towards Eyewear aims at
studying the eyewear industry in India and the consumer preferences in this industry.
VisionSpring is an eyewear company that works to ensure affordable access to
eyewear, everywhere. Primary objective of this project is to analyse the consumer
buying behaviour and habits. For this purpose, research and analysis is very
important and is needed to be done continuously in this dynamic environment where
consumer buying behaviour keeps on changing.
In this competitive market, customers are becoming more and more aware about the
new products. Any useful information and eye catching deal can change a
customers decision. The visibility has been one of the major factors to get the
customer attention. To sustain a competitive advantage, the existing players will
need to improve customer experience and satisfaction. Customer loyalty is very
important in this industry.
Key factors which consumers considers while buying eyewear were analysed. After
researching I found that the eyewear industry is likely to expand in coming years
since consumers are now also buying eyewear as a fashion accessory and also
because of multiple eyewear ownership among users.
As per my recommendation focus should be more on the quality of product and
services rather than just selling, because word of mouth marketing plays a major role
in this industry. Also, in my view the influence of the optometrist on the customer is
high so Vision Spring should have optometrists which are good in both eye
testing/analysis as well as in selling the right products.

6|Page

Chapter 1: Introduction
Eyewear industry in India
According to a study by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of
India (ASSOCHAM), the total value of the Indian eyewear market (including contact
lenses, intraocular lenses, lens cleaning solutions, spectacle lenses, frames and
sunglasses) is estimated to be worth as much as US$7.2 billion by 2015.
An estimated 450 million people in India need vision correction, but the actual
number of those who use optical lenses is less than 25 percent of that. The
shockingly high number of people with untreated vision-correction requirements
speaks volumes about the state of ocular health in the country and about access to
ophthalmic health care.
India's eyewear industry is highly segmented, comprising various manufacturers that
specialise in designing and producing eyewear products in different sectors. Despite
the presence of a number of leading eyewear companies in the regulated sector, the
optical market in India is primarily driven by the revenues of a huge number of
smaller manufacturers in the more informal, largely unregulated sector. The eyewear
market continues to be dominated by unbranded players, which sell really cheap
products at low prices. However, unbranded players have continued to lose share as
their cumulative share dipped over the past few years. Interestingly, multinationals
have made a mark in terms of branded products. Of the top five players in eyewear,
four, namely Essilor, Carl Zeiss, Safilo and Luxottica, were subsidiaries of
multinationals. Optical goods stores were the most popular channel in 2013. Indians
are more used to going to such shops as they are located in residential as well as
famous shopping areas. The staff at such stores has built relationships with
7|Page

consumers over decades, which has led to high levels of trust. Moreover, there
continued to be an increasing trend towards branded stores in 2014, such as
Lawrence &Mayo, Vision Express and GKB Optolabs in India, which also fall under
optical goods stores. This would suggest the ongoing dominance of this channel in
the longer term. In the regulated spectacle lens sector, Essilor is the clear market
leader, while Bausch & Lomb dominates the contact lens segment. Ray-Ban is the
largest selling sunglasses brand. Titan is the largest eyewear retail chain.
Overall, a number of factors have contributed to the growth in demand in the Indian
eyewear sector. Higher levels of disposable income and greater awareness of
remedial solutions have seen a greater uptake of corrective spectacles by those
suffering from some form of vision impairment. Eyewear is also expected to maintain
its good run over the 2014-2018 period. The fact that such products are necessity
driven will provide a boost to the market. This is because consumers cannot cut the
consumption of such products significantly in the event of further economic
slowdown. Moreover, demand for branded eyewear is currently very low in India and
therefore its low base will also help the growth rate. Based on these factors, the
eyewear market is expected to register double-digit constant value growth between
2014 and 2018.
At the same time, sales of sunglasses have benefited from greater awareness of the
health benefits of such eyewear, as well as a heightened fashion sense, driven by
greater media awareness. While, in the past, Indian consumers viewed eyewear as a
merely functional product, this mind-set has now changed considerably, especially in
the major urban areas.
Historically, Indians have considered eyewear as utility products. As such, most
consumers did not own more than one pair of sunglasses even though sunglasses
8|Page

have been present in the country for decades. This trend changed significantly over
the past few years. Consumers started opting for more than one pair of spectacle
frames and sunglasses in light of the rapidly changing fashion trends. Multiple
ownership of different brands/style of eyewear is now far more commonplace. Five
years ago, multiple ownership in this category was just around 2%. Now it estimated
at around 6-7% and predicted to grow considerably over the coming years.
The India Eyewear Market Outlook to FY'2018 - Rising Popularity of Online
Eyewear Portals report cites shifting demographics, fashion and changing health
care practices in India as being the primary drivers of this growth. It also indicates
that sales of new varieties of eyewear products, incorporating advanced
technologies, are also playing a significant role.
The surge in the number of online portals selling eyewear and related products has
seen a huge shift away from conventional high street outlets specialising in the
sector. This move has been driven, at least in part, by the greater penetration of
broadband into India's tier one, two and three cities.
At present Lenskart has the highest online market share in the country, with GKB
Opticals being ranked second by retail volume. Other significant players here include
Lenstrade, LensDirect, Yebhi and Rediff Shopping.

9|Page

Chapter2: Literature Review

The Vision Council (February 2011) in their report Fashion v.s Function In Eyewear
stated that a large majority of eyeglass users/buyers (83%-87%) view eyeglasses
primarily as a medical necessity. The aim of the research was to provide insight into
the mind of the eyewear user and buyer as to whether they view eyewear as being a
medical necessity, a fashion item, or a mix of the two.
Karl Citek in his study Safety and compliance of prescription spectacles ordered by
the public via the Internet, published in Optometry, vol. 82, iss. 9 , pgs 549-555,
Sept. 2011 found out that more than one in every five pairs of eyeglasses sold online
was not delivered as ordered, with features added or omitted. Overall, the study
found that nearly half of all glasses they ordered online had a problem, either with
the prescription being wrong, the lens type (single vision vs bi-focal) being wrong, or
with the lenses not passing impact resistance testing and that problem existed
regardless of the cost of those glasses online. Probably the most disturbing finding
of the study was that in 25% of the glasses for children, the lenses failed impact
testing.
Sweeney Research (2013) did a research on Sunglasses and Fashion Spectacles Consumer Purchasing Decisions. The aim was to provide a benchmark measure of
consumer awareness of safety considerations regarding eye protection from sun
exposure and how this impacts purchase decision making for sunglasses and
fashion spectacles. They found out that sunglasses are a common accessory with
around seven in ten (71%) Australians owning at least one pair of non-prescription
sunglasses. The most common reasons for wearing sunglasses are to prevent glare,

10 | P a g e

protect eyes from UV/sunlight and to protect eyes from sun damage. Compared to
other age groups, 18-29 year olds are significantly more likely to be wearing
sunglasses to look good or to be fashionable, however glare and UV protection are
still the main reasons for wearing sunglasses in this age group.
Zambelli-Weiner, John E. Crews, and David S. Freidman (2012) in their study
Disparities in Adult Vision Health in the United States found out that because vision
loss most often is the result of underlying degenerative processes, the data showed
increased risk with increasing age for most of the major eye diseases. In general,
women are at higher risk of most major eye diseases. Major population-based
studies have examined the prevalence and risk of most major eye diseases by race,
but data are limited and findings are inconsistent. Data on other sociodemographic
variables, such as education and income, are limited.
How 'try and buy' allows niche online retailers like Lenskart take on giants like
Amazon, Econmictimes 5th may 2015. According to this article permitting item trials
at home is turned out to be lucrative for niche players like lenskart. By permitting
purchasers to try things before buying, organizations, for example, online eyewear
retailer Lenskart and goldsmith BlueStone have able to push through higher worth
buys while essentially bringing down item gives back.
According to the report India Eyewear Market Outlook to FY2018 rising disposable
incomes, soaring population with visual impairment and increase in the number of
fashion-driven purchases will increase in the spending on eyewear products in India.
The report also added that the steep rise in the penetration of broadband in tier I, tier
II and tier III cities is expected to augment the revenues from the online eyewear
retailers in India.

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The report Eyewear in India by Euromonitor International says that eyewear in India
registered healthy retail volume and value growth in 2014. This was primarily driven
by the increased use of contact lenses and sunglasses among consumers. Eyewear
sales were no longer simply utilitarian in 2014. Consumers started to use spectacles,
contact lenses and sunglasses for various other purposes as well. The use of no
power spectacles with antireflective and antiglare properties became very popular as
they help to relieve eye stress caused by the increased use of laptops and
computers.
Do you see what we see? The future of independent optometry by Bain & Company
According to the report independent optometrists like Dr. Calderon will need to
change their behaviour in order to survive. They will need to have a stronger
materials offering, more transparent pricing, online scheduling for exams, availability
of materials to buy or pick up easily in store and faster production of new glasses,
while continuing to provide the same personalized service that has won them loyalty
up to this point. Category disrupters such as Zappos for footwear or the new upstarts
such as Warby Parker for eye glasses are changing the way glasses are purchased
and will continue to evolve and deliver higher levels of convenience and value. The
independent optometrist must act or be left behind.
According to the research paper A Study of Demographics Influencing on Consumer
Behavior and Attitude towards Brand Equity of Optical Business in Thailand The
major consumer reason to purchase eyeglasses was opticians specialist; the
reason to wear eyeglasses was having myopia; and the people influencing in
purchasing eyeglasses was oneself. The score of consumer attitude towards brand
equity were brand association, perceive quality, brand loyalty, and brand awareness,
respectively.
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Objectives
The objective of this study is to understand the attitudes of consumers towards
eyeglass. Our purpose is to determine if the attitude of consumers towards eyewear
is affected by the demographic variables like age, gender, level of household
income. Factors that influence the consumer will also be studied.

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Chapter 3: Research Methodology

Research Design
To meet the objectives of this study a quantitative research is carried out. In the
study both primary and secondary data has been used. The secondary data was
collected from various published literature. The information regarding the
organization has been collected from the internet and documents provided by the
company. To collect the primary data a survey was conducted in which a sample of
respondents from National capital Region (NCR) has been chosen using
convenience sample technique. An online questionnaire was distributed to the
selected

respondents.

The

questionnaire

contained

questions

regarding

demographics, attitudes, presentences of the respondents towards eyewear. The

data collected was then analysed and interpreted using statistical tools. Then
relevant conclusion were drawn and suggestions given.

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Chapter 4: Results and Analysis

In this section the data collected has been analysed. The data has been analysed
with the help pie diagram, bar charts, percentage analysis and Chi-Square Test.
Software such as SPSS and excel have been used.

Demographics of the Respondents

Gender of Respondent: Form the figure below it can be seen that 63% (44 out
of 70) respondents were male and 37% were female.

37%
63%

Male
Female

Figure 1 Gender distribution of the respondents

Age of the respondents: Almost 60% of the population was in age group of 20
to 25. It can be seen that the sample is inclined more towards the young
generation i.e. in the age group of 20-30.

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11%

3%

15-20

27%

20-25
59%

25-30
>30

Figure 2 Age of the Respondents

Annual income of the family: 49% have income in the range 5-10 lakhs.

7%

23%

21%
<3 lakh
3-5 lakh
5-10 Lakh
49%

Figure 3 Age of the Respondents

Pairs of eyeglasses people own

Almost 50% of the respondents own 2 pair of eyeglasses

Only 6% own 4 or more pair of eyeglasses

16 | P a g e

>10 lakh

6%
29%

17%

1
2
3
4 or more

48%

Figure 3 - pair of eyeglasses people own

Customer Journey

40% of the respondents visited a single retailer: From the chart it is clear that
28 out of 70 respondents went to just one retailer/shop to make a purchase
and did not looked around in the competing stores.

21%
40%

1
2
more than 2

39%

Figure 4 - Number of retailers customers shopped around

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47% of the customers purchased the eyeglasses from location they had their
eyes examined, whereas 53% purchased from a different location.

47%

Yes
No

53%

Figure 5

Purchase influencers

For more than 50% of the customers the influence of the optometrist was

important.

Very Important
13%
9%

26%

21%

Important

31%

Neither important nor

unimportant
Of little Importance
Unimportant

Figure 6 - The influence of the optometrist

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49% of the respondents were most influenced by the inputs of friends and
family members.

Just 4% were most influenced by discount/promotions.

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
The assistance
of the optician

Input from
friends and
family
members

Point of
purchase
displays

Promotions

Other

Figure 7- Influencing factors

Online Purchases
34% have shopped for eyewear online.

34%

Yes
66%

No

Figure 8- Costumers buying online

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Only 32% are satisfied with their online purchase. 12% were extremely
dissatisfied whereas 8% were extremely satisfied

12%

Extremely Satisfied

8%

Very satisfied

8%
24%

Neither satisfied nor

dissatisfied
dissatisfied
Not at all satisfied

48%

Figure 9- satisfaction level of online purchase

Reasons behind buying eyewear

66% bought eyewear because of medical necessity and 31% bought it as a

fashion accessory.

3%
31%
Medical necessity
66%

Fashion accessory
Other

Figure 10- Reasons behind buying eyewear

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Discount and Promotions

57% did not took advantage of a discount or promotion. Whereas 43% used
discount/promotion while buying eyewear.

43%
57%

Yes
No

Figure 11 discounts/promotions

87.5% who bought online made use of a discount or promotion

12.5%
Do not use discounts
when buying online
Use discounts while
buying online

87.5%

Figure 12

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Relation between gender and influencers

I will now apply the chi square test to determine if there is any relation between
gender and influencers.

cc
The null and alternative hypotheses are
H0: Gender and influencers are independent.
Ha: Gender and influencers are not independent.
The SPSS result was as follows

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Chi-Square Tests
Value

df

Asymp. Sig. (2sided)

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
N of Valid Cases
a.

.489

2.429

.488

2.424

67

3 cells (37.5%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum

expected count is 1.16.

From the table we can see that the Chi is 2.424 and degree of freedom is 3. P value
of this test is 0.489 which is more the Alpha value (0.05). Therefore we cannot reject
the null hypothesis. Hence there is no co-relation between Gender and influencers.

23 | P a g e

Chapter 5: Conclusion and Suggestions

Conclusion
The results of the conducted study highlight the combination of factors that leads to
customers buying eyewear. It can be seen that the eye industry is following similar
trends as seen in the retail makeover in India. Over the years eyewear has changed
from being a utility product vision correction to key fashion accessory. In the past few
years the competition has increased tremendously with many online players entering
into the market. Some of these players have even started opening brick and mortar
stores.
The consumers have become more aware about the products and the prices. The
increase in the online purchases could also be because of the deals and discounts
which are on offer online.
The eyewear industry is expected to expand in the next few years because of many
factors like increasing use of multiple eyewear ownership, increased use of eyewear
as a fashion accessory.
Consumers have started experimenting by buying online, but the satisfaction levels
of online buyers are very low. This could be because of the fact that eyewear is a
category which users like to get a feel of before buying it. Getting the right fit of an
eyeglass is very important and getting that fit online is very difficult.
It can be concluded that the key success factors of this industry are

Product portfolio and quality of products

Delivery time

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After sales services

However, as with any other industry, this industry is also facing many challenges.
The scarcity of professionals is one of the biggest challenges. This is leading to an
increase in salaries for trained professionals. Also, higher rentals in cities are
causing a hindrance to growth.

Suggestions
Over the years the eyewear industry has changed and the consumers have become
more aware about the products and the prices, hence it is important for the
companies to provide excellent service to the consumers.
The following suggestions have been on the basis of the study:
1. Focus should be more on the quality of product and services rather than just selling,
because word of mouth marketing plays a major role in this industry.
2. The influence of the optometrist on the customer is high, so Vision Spring should train

optometrists which are good in both eye testing/analysis as well as in selling the right
products.
3. To retain customer, they should provide excellent after sales services and offer loyalty
programs to customers.

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Limitations
1. The study has been restricted to the users of eyewear.
2. The data and opinion collected are assumed to be objective.
3. The survey is restricted to 70 respondents.
4. Data was collected online.
5. The study has been restricted to Delhi NCR only.

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Annexure
About Vision Spring
VisionSpring is a social enterprise founded by Jordan Kassalow and Scott Berrie in
2001, a year after Kassalow co-founded Scojo Vision LLC, a designer and distributor
of high-end reading glasses. He is named in the list of Forbes magazines Impact 30.
VisionSpring has its global headquarters in New York (USA) and its India head office
is located in New Delhi.
Their proclaimed mission is "to ensure equitable and affordable eyeglass is available
to every individual to live a productive life".
VisionSpring works to ensure affordable access to eyewear, everywhere. The World
Health Organization estimates that over 700 million people who need eyeglasses do
not have access to this important product. This leads to an estimated 35% loss of
economic productivity, children falling out of school, and a significant loss of quality
of life. Since inception, VisionSpring has sold over 1.6M eyeglasses to their target
customers who typically earn between $1-$8 per day. As a social enterprise,
VisionSpring deploys philanthropic capital to uncover economically viable business
models that can scale through market forces. In 2013, their operations in Central
America were on the cusp of achieving this important milestone.
VisionSpring has two working models. One called the Hub & Spoke model and the
other the Partnership model. The Economist likened their Hub & Spoke model to
"Lenscrafters meets Mary Kay." In this model, they operate fixed cross-subsidized
optical shops with optometrists from which a small band of "Vision Entrepreneurs"
fan out into the neighboring communities to provide eye screenings, sell reading and
sunglasses, and refer more advanced cases back to the store to see the optometrist.
27 | P a g e

They operate this model in India and El Salvador and have active plans to scale this
model to several other countries in Central America including Honduras, Nicaragua,
and Guatemala. The Partnership model, typified by their work with BRAC in
Bangladesh, helps organizations with existing distribution networks and teaches
them to add vision services into their product offering. VisionSpring operates this
model in over a dozen countries including Rwanda, Morocco, Afghanistan,
Paraguay, and Ethiopia.
Work in India
VisionSpring is a not-for-profit international healthcare organization working in India
since 2005.
Partnerships & Projects: VisionSpring partners with like-minded organizations across
India to provide primary eye care services to the community at large. Its key partners
are SREI Sahaj, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Aravind Eye Care
System, Wockhardt, Mahindra & Mahindra, DLF Foundation, Apollo Tyres
Foundation, Sightsavers, Vasan Eye Care, Kalinga Kusum, Drishtee Foundation,
Indira Gandhi Eye Hospitals, ERC Eye Care, Gram Tarang, Mela Artisans,
Sagarmatha Chaudhary Eye Hospital (Nepal), Honest Tea, Fair Trade USA, and
many others.
Vision Entrepreneurs: VisionSpring empowers and trains people to do eye screening
and give glasses on the spot.
Hub & Spoke (H&S): VisionSpring partners with hospitals across India for optical
shops and ophthalmic outreach activities in order to provide complete eye care

28 | P a g e

solution to the community. VisionSpring also runs optical shops independently and
outside hospital locations.
VisionSpring started its Hub & Spoke operations in 2012 from Karnal (Haryana),
India, and expanded across the country in 2013. They started stand-alone optical
shops and associated with leading eye hospitals to set-up optical shops in their
premises. These shops serve people with refractive error and also cater to patients
with post-surgery refractive-error rectification. It also partner with hospitals for their
community outreach activities in a variety of ways. The Hub & Spoke operations
presently consist of 18 initiatives, and in 2015, they will be further expanding across
India. Many centres have mobile outreach vans associated with them for conducting
rural eye-screening activities.
Hub & Spoke partners in India:
S. No.

Type

Location

Government

Ansari Nagar
(Delhi)

2.

Partner/associati
on
All India Institute
of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS)
VisionSpring-run

Self

3.

VisionSpring-run

Self

4.

VisionSpring-run

Self

5.

Arya Eye Hospital Private

6.

Navjeevan
Hospital
Arpana Hospital
VisionSpring-run
Agarwal Nursing
Home
Philadelphia
(Mission) Hospital
Roop Rani
Hospital
Civil Hospital

Dwarka Mod
(Delhi)
Dwarka Sector-7
(Delhi)
Fatehpuri/Chand
ni Chowk (Delhi)
Sonipat
(Haryana)
Panipat
(Haryana)
Karnal (Haryana)
Karnal (Haryana)
Kurukshetra
(Haryana)
Ambala
(Haryana)
Yamuna Nagar
(Haryana)
Fatehabad

1.

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
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Private
Private
Self
Private
Private
Private
Government

13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

Gian Sagar
Hospital
Saraswati Eye
Hospital
Raj Retina and
Eye Care Centre
VisionSpring-run
Pharande Eye
Hospital
Sujag Netralaya

Private
Private
Private
Self
Private
Private

(Haryana)
Banur (District
Patiala), Punjab
Pratapgarh (Uttar
Pradesh)
Patna (Bihar)
Angul (Odisha)
Pune
(Maharashtra)
Pune
(Maharashtra)

Awards and recognition

VisionSpring is an award winning social enterprise. They have been widely
recognized having been honored by winning competitions and awards such as: The
World Bank Development Market Place Competition, The BYU Innovator Award, the
Duke University's Social Innovation Award, The Aspen Institute's McNulty Prize, the
Draper Richards Kaplan Fellowship, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, the
Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Ashoka Fellowship,
the Forbes Impact 30 and many others.
Through the sale of over 1.6M VisionSpring has created over $269M of economic
impact. Studies conducted by the University of Michigan demonstrated that a pair of
reading glasses increases a workers productivity by 35% resulting in an increased
earning potential of an average customer by $381 over the two year estimated life of
the product.
The success of VisionSprings capitalistic and philanthropic operation has been used
as a learning example and role model for social enterprises. Stanford Social
Innovation Review, Handbook of Research on Social Entrepreneurship and Next
Generation Business Strategies for the Base of the Pyramid: New Approaches for
30 | P a g e

Building Mutual Value have featured VisionSpring and published its experience to
allow other social enterprise industry learn from them.

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References

Karl C (2011), Safety and compliance of prescription spectacles ordered by the public
via the Internet, Optometry, 2011 pp:549-55
Zambelli-Weiner, John E, and David S. Freidman (2012), Disparities in Adult Vision
Health in the United States, Anerican Journal of Ophthalmology, volume 154, issue 6,
pp20-30
How 'try and buy' allows niche online retailers like Lenskart take on giants like
Amazon, Econmictimes 5th may 2015
(http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-05-05/news/61833410_1_onlineeyewear-retailer-lenskart-peyush-bansal-flipkart-and-amazon)
Elizabeth Spaulding(2012), Do you see what we see? The future of independent
optometry
(http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/the-future-of-independentoptometry.aspx)
http://visionspring.org/commitment-to-our-customers/ (accessed on 4th june)

https://www.opticians.ca/CMS2011/ckfinder/userfiles/files/Article%20on%20O

nline%20frame%20ordering%20Sept%202011.pdf (accessed on 4th june)

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Questionnaire
Completing the survey is voluntary. If you decide to complete the survey, you can
skip any question you do not want to answer or stop the survey at any time for any
reason. Your participation will be greatly appreciated.
The result of this survey would be kept confidential.
NAME_____________________________
AGE____

GENDER_________

1. Approximately, how much do you earn in a month?

A. <10000
B.

10000-20000

C.

20000-30000

D.

30000-40000

E.

40000-50000

F.

50000+

2. How many pairs of eye glasses do you currently have?

A. None
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4 or More

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3. Did you purchase your glasses at the same location or retailer at which you
had your eyes examined?
A) Yes
B) NO

4. Approximately how many retailers did you shopped around before making a
purchase?
A) 1
B) 2
C) More than 2

5. How important was the optical dispenser in making your final decision?
A) Very Important
B) Important
C) Neither important nor unimportant
D) Of little Importance
E) Unimportant

6. Have you ever shopped for eyewear online?

A) Yes
B) NO

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7. If yes, are you satisfied with your online purchase?

A) Not at all satisfied
B) Slightly satisfied
C) Moderately satisfied
D) Very satisfied
E) Extremely satisfied

8. What was the most important reason behind buying your eyeglass?
A) medical necessity
B) Fashion accessory
C) Others

9. Did you take advantage of a promotion, a coupon, a discount, or a special

sale when making your eyewear purchases?
A) Yes
B) NO

10. When making your eyeglass purchase decision, did you have a friend or
family member along to assist you in making a purchase decision?
A) Yes
B) No

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11. Who/What influenced you purchase the most?

A) The assistance of the optical dispenser
B) Input from friends and family members
C) Point of purchase displays
D) Promotions
E) Other (please specify______
12. Your family annual income?
A) Less than 3 lakhs B) 3 lakhs-5 lakhs
lakh

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C) 5 lakhs10 lakhs D) More than 10