Next-gen Eyewear Patients Await Your Expertise

Gen Z and young Millennials aren’t just the next generation of eyewear consumers, they’re already shaping the way healthcare and retail brands communicate.

Raised in a mobile-first, swipe-driven world, Gen Z not only expects speed and convenience, but ethical, authentic, ethics, and personalized service — all in the world they live in: TikTok and Instagram, from influencers and value-first branding. It’s time to future-proof your marketing strategies to align with Gen Z as they define the new standard for digital engagement and consumer behavior. By understanding how and where this next wave of decision makers is interacting, optical brands can shift from being overlooked to being Gen Z’s go-to choice.

A common concern in our industry is that established clinics with loyal (and typically aging) patient bases are struggling to attract younger demographics. Despite decades of success, something’s no longer clicking. The good news? Recognizing this pattern is an important first step. Awareness creates opportunity to adapt, evolve and stay relevant… the alternative is to remain stagnant until the old ways no longer hold up.

Welcome to the Swipe Economy

With 67% of Gen Z using Instagram as a search engine and their attention spans averaging just 8 seconds, scroll behavior is now overtaking search behavior for many consumers. Their world is visual-first, audio-optional and driven by peer trust. If your main marketing or communication tactic has been to publish long-form, in-depth blog articles and ensure your website is running smoothly, that’s great, but it is now time to rethink your approach (and no, please don’t panic and delete your blog!). There is still value in many of the initiative’s practices have in place, but the name of the game is now diversifying and revamping some of those efforts.

The New Standard: What Gen Z Expects

It’s time to strategize ways to lean into authenticity, speed, convenience, ethics and personalization over promotion. Consumers are now demanding real faces and real stories, not just polished brand talk. It’s those team highlights and behind the scenes social media shares that are showing the best engagement.

Speed and convenience are the expectation, not the bonus. It’s not enough to have a “Request Appointment” form on your website; you need seamless appointment booking, SMS prompts to re-order contacts and fast responses on social channels. If you can be at the forefront of offering a frictionless experience, you will be on the winning team — just ask a little business named Amazon that offers next day delivery.

Many Gen Z’s are looking to align and support brands offering sustainability, inclusivity or social consciousness. Why can’t that be you? Feature vendor or clinic initiatives around environmental responsibility, inclusivity in frame design or community engagement! As Jacqueline Thomas so eloquently pointed out in The Power of Sponsorship Marketing, “When your business is active in giving, it shows your customers and prospects that you care.” If you can share authentically and show you are active in being a socially conscious brand, you’ll go from no-show to show stopping for this generation that is specifically searching for brands with heart.

And finally, make it personal! Despite all the buzz and excitement around AI and tech, people still want that human touch and to feel seen. Customized frame recommendations, curated content and niche marketing is overpowering generic promotional messaging. Speaking to those ’micro-niches‘ instead of mass-market messaging is taking patient experience and brand representation to the next level. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, 44% of Gen Z are willing to share personal health information for more detailed insights, indicating an extremely strong preference for personalized healthcare experiences.

What this Means for ECPs and Suppliers:

• For Clinics:

  • Invest in social-first content and partner with micro-influencers to tap into local opportunity. Many practices become frustrated at the mention of the importance of social media, but the fact is that it’s here to stay!  Embrace it or offboard it to a team member that can run with it!

  • Stop ’selling‘ and start showing! Patients want to see your team, the experience, and not just be fed a line about the latest and greatest service.

  • Use data analytics to tailor marketing messages and product recommendations to give a truly personalized experience.
    

• For Vendors:

  • Help ECPs with plug-and-play mobile-optimized content that they can customize. Build resources in Canva to allow clinics to add in their own imagery or tweak the branding of the assets – don’t just blast out the same thing and then wonder why no one is using it or why it’s falling flat.

  • Innovate with frame brands that speak to identity or campaigns centered on causes, not just collections. Get deep with that brand messaging and lean into those differentiating factors (especially when they’re able to showcase an ethical initiative).
    

• For the Industry:

  • The winners will be the ones who adapt fast and learn how to speak natively to Gen Z users on the platforms they value. Put your own bias aside and see what can be done to better connect with this emerging crowd.

  • Those who don’t take the risk will ultimately risk becoming invisible, no matter how great their team, practice, product or offering is.

The Swipe-First Future is Now and Ready for You

To reach Gen Z, eyewear brands need more than a new marketing plan; they need a new mindset that prioritizes personality over polish, speed over stillness, and relevance over repetition. In a day and age where your first impression is a 6-second swipe, every scroll is a chance to either connect or disappoint. The next generation eyewear patient is awaiting your expertise, is your business prepared to meet them on their terms?

Written by Shelbi Bernhard