Young Britons spend £145 on sunglasses, pay more for fashion than for protection

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 1, 2019

Many young UK consumers spend an average of £145 on a pair of sunglasses, a new study has shown. Yet despite this relatively high figure, many of them aren't particularly interested in sunglasses’ protective effects and seem to be focusing more on the fashion element.

A survey commissioned by Sightsavers and People’s Postcode Lottery, which works with the charity, said that overall, 26% of British men spend more than £100 on a pair of sunglasses, although only 14% of British women do the same. And 54% of men own two or three pairs, slightly ahead of the 50% of women who own that many.

But the biggest spenders come into the 25 to 34 age bracket, spending £145 per pair, as mentioned above.

Almost all Britons (90%) wear sunglasses at some point, but the survey showed that only 40% do so in order to protect their eyes from UV damage. In fact, 30% are completely unaware of the damage that UV can do and a massive 69% don't know that it can cause cataracts, a problem affecting 65 million people around the world.

And in addition to the sunglass wearers who are unaware of the problems, 15% of people in the UK can't see the point of sunglasses and 17% think they're a waste of money.

It's interesting as well that only 28% of consumers buy their sunglasses from an optician and that when they do, they expect to spend less. They spend £86 on average when buying from an eye specialist but are happy to spend more than £160 when buying from big-name brands.