happy New Year and welcome to 2018! As we move out of the “holidaze” and back to work, the turn of the new year begs a perennial question:

What will this year hold for all of us?

Part of the answer to this query is right here in this very issue of Eyecare Business. In our big cover feature—2018’s 8 Mega Market Trends—we distill every morsel from our 2017 EB market research studies to reveal what’s trending for 2018—in optical products, in key market competition, and in ways ECPs are doing business successfully.

What will 2018’s hottest optical products be? According to our research, the lineup includes digital/blue light products, polarized sunwear, high-end frames, premium PALs, AR, and—the clear, standout winner—Rx sunwear.

Which is perfect timing, as we dig right into this very topic in this special Sunwear Supreme issue of EB. Our Rx Sunwear Tip Sheet feature (page 74) gets the party started with 12 quick tips (delivered by 4 stellar ECPs) for bumping up Rx sun sales in a snap.

On page 62, we dig into the sunwear market to reveal insider competitive intel, including a view to how sunwear sales are faring (spoiler: they inched up by almost 2% in 2017), plus we take a trip inside a Warby Parker store (so you don’t have to) to see how they position plano and Rx sunwear.

And, get your trends on with our eye-popping Color Play fashion feature (page 56), which is dripping with color-soaked, boundary-breaking sunwear destined to entice your clientele.

We hope you enjoy the issue, and we wish you a happy + healthy new year!

Erinn Morgan
Editor-in-Chief + Editorial Director
Eyecare Business