The Contact Lens Institute (CLI) has released a 12-part short-form video series exploring new research on the profitability of soft contact lens patients compared with equivalent glasses-only patients in U.S. eye care practices.
“Profitability Perspectives with Professors Jones, Morgan & Morgan,” now available on YouTube, features one-minute-or-less videos examining findings from 2026 research on contact lens profitability.
About the Series
The video series features three of the study’s investigators: Philip Morgan, professor at the University of Manchester; Lyndon Jones, professor at the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) at the University of Waterloo; and Ash Morgan, professor in the Department of Economics at Appalachian State University.
Filmed during the International Society for Contact Lens Research symposium, the series examines how practices can interpret and apply the findings. Topics include calculating patient lifetime value, generating secondary sales, addressing contact lens dropout, developing patient relationships, and maximizing opportunities among patients who wear both contact lenses and glasses.
Breaking Down the Study
The series is based on a study that found soft contact lens patients generated an annual profitability advantage ranging from 29% to 86% higher than for glasses-only patients, depending on the type of vision correction prescribed. The findings originated from four years of anonymized patient data from 20 U.S. eye care practices. Each practice submitted data for 30 patients as well as operational information such as professional fees, chair time, staff compensation, and secondary revenue streams.
According to the research, average annual customer-level profits of $436 for spherical contact lens patients, $453 for toric patients, and $485 for multifocal patients. By comparison, average annual profits were $244 for single-vision glasses patients and $376 for progressive glasses patients.
More Guidance to Come
CLI plans to release additional study findings and practical guidance in September during the American Academy of Optometry 2026 Annual Meeting. The organization says it will provide the information through an in-depth CLI See Tomorrow report.