Pint-Sized patrons
5 clever tips for successfully selling children’s eyewear
BY FRANCES NUELLE
Color Rules (from left):
On Kaizer, Chick Occhiali Italia Chick K503 from Prisme Optical in highly bendable rubber in handpainted red/orange with a patented hinge. On Zada, Ogi Kids OK323 bright blue cat-eye style with metal front and acetate temples. Photo by Chowen Photography. Fitting optician: Tracy Henderson, Eye.D.
got kids? If your optical business does not yet serve up a selection of kids’ eyewear, consider this: A full 22% of ECPs point to pint-sized product as their fastest-growing category. Thus, kids’ eyewear is noted as the third-fastest-growing category overall for ECPs today, according to the Eyecare Business Market Trends Study 2015.
In addition, a full 25% of children under the age of 18 need vision correction today, according to The Vision Council—and that percentage is on the rise. With today’s kids spending more time on digital screens, ECPs can expect increasing numbers of young patients walking in their doors.
But kids present unique challenges as optical customers, say retailers who specialize in pediatric and teen eye care. Here, three highly successful kid-centric ECPs deliver insider advice.
1. Create a Quality Control Protocol.
Unlike adults, kids (especially young kids) will typically not speak up if their visual acuity is off or their eyewear is uncomfortable. For that reason, a special protocol should be in place that (1) trains staff to listen closely to the child and watch for body language to ensure that products fit comfortably, (2) double-checks lens orders for accuracy, and (3) allows for measurements to be taken at least twice, by more than one person on staff.
“We are incredibly cautious about what we let out of our optical,” says Crystal Hediger, optician and ophthalmic technician at Children’s Family Optical in Wheat Ridge, CO. “In general, kiddos will do as they’re told by grown-ups—so if the product doesn’t fit or worse, was made wrong, they will never tell you. For that reason, we always have more than one person handle every [pediatric] job” to ensure accuracy.
2. Train, Train, Train.
Dispensing to kids is a specialty that requires specialized training. Does your staff have superior knowledge of the best lens options, coatings, frame features, children’s facial proportions, and fitting techniques? These skills are elemental to success.
And, even within the pediatric category, specific segments—babies and toddlers, young children, tweens, and, finally, teens—require different approaches, fitting techniques, and technical knowledge.
“You have to be able to know what materials should be used for specific prescriptions, how to read prescriptions, and what will work in extreme situations,” says Hediger. “You need more training than for [dispensing to] adults, for sure,” she says.
Style Points:
On Cyrus, Sperry Spinnaker model C02 from L’Amy.
Photo by Chowen Photography. Fitting optician:
Tracy Henderson, Eye.D.
3. Carry the Right Assortment.
Experts suggest that inventory decisions should be driven by what proportion of your patients are children—and then further refined into percentage of pediatric, tweens, teens, and petite patients. Strive to evaluate vendors at least every three months, gauged against sales (and any problems encountered by patients).
“We are always looking for new things, new vendors,” says Ivonne Goldstein, CEO of Optiwow, a Miami-based optical shop affiliated with a pediatric ophthalmology practice. “The most important thing for kids’ product is durability. If it were possible, parents would prefer it if their child’s eyewear didn’t break if the car ran over it.”
ECPs also agree that a good selection of merchandise—assorted colors, shapes, and sizes—is vital to success.
“We see this all the time—a child comes in with a frame that is too big, or the temple length is too long so the eyewear doesn’t fit the child,” says Rachel Perez, pediatric optician at Optiwow. “[Another] retailer wanted to make the sale when they didn’t have enough selection, or the right size, so they tried to make the wrong product work for the child. It’s a huge problem.”
Psychology 101
Dispensing to kids is an art form that requires a little extra time and patience. “I can’t tell you how often I’ve had to play psychologist,” says Rachel Perez, pediatric optician at Optiwow. “Once you have a child who likes a particular frame and it fits nicely on the face, the mom will say, ‘No, I don’t like it.’ It then becomes a negotiation between the parent and the child—and I have to help them figure it out.”
4. Get Creative With Marketing.
You’ve already got a website. Next, say retailers, is adding a blog where you can educate parents about the need for eye exams plus how to recognize vision problems in children, how to teach kids to care for eyewear, showcase new kids’ products, promote kids’ sunwear, and educate parents about digital eye strain.
Other ideas include sponsoring local children’s events such as fun runs, art shows, school fundraisers, and street fairs. Consider in-store giveaways and offering healthy snacks to kids to build retention and make them comfortable while they are being fitted.
5. Kid-ify Your Store.
Kids respond to visual cues more than adults, so optical retailers will benefit from imagining their store from a child’s perspective, from determining how high to display frames to keeping kids interested in-store.
“Everything should be colorful,” says John Fuoco, owner/optician at Devonshire Optical Kids in New York City. “The inside of the store, the frames themselves—the store [or at least the kids’ frame section] should look and feel like a toy store.”
Unlike the prevailing wisdom for displaying adult frames (sectioned off by brand or lifestyle), kids’ frames are best displayed by gender and age, say expert ECPs.
“We have girls on one side, boys on the other, and teens in the middle,” says Optiwow’s Goldstein. “Then we go up by size, one board to another.”
And don’t forget toys. “I ran a train through the store during the holidays,” says Fuoco. “Nothing gets kids into a store like a working train.”
Want More?
Find out more about what’s driving the kids’ eyewear category. Visit our Web Exclusives for more expert tips on must-have kids options: eyecarebusiness.com/webexclusives