ONLY For Your Practice, ONLY For Your Patients
Coming April 2026
In today’s evolving optometric landscape, contact lenses represent far more than a transactional product. They are an opportunity for practices to differentiate, strengthen patient loyalty, and reclaim margin through exclusive, practice-only offerings.
ONLY™ Contact Lenses address the need for:
Independent ODs to compete
Quality product exclusive to independent practices
No subscription fees, share programs, or gross revenue share required
ONLY™ Contact Lenses are designed to provide:
Quality contact lenses for patients
Retention and loyalty of patients
Profitability for practice
An Exclusive Brand by a Trusted Manufacturer
It’s reported that 62% of patients purchase contact lenses outside of the practice where they receive their eye examination. While many ODs have given up on contact lens retention and profitability, ONLY™ was engineered to bring those patients and profits back to the practice. With a trusted contact lens manufacturer behind the technology, the ONLY™ for ODs solution helps insulate your practice from prescriptions migrating to e-commerce and big retail. This exclusive contact lens delivers comfort and visual performance while addressing patient retention and practice profit.
Increasing Profitability Without Compromising Care
From a practice management perspective, an exclusive brand provided at competitive wholesale prices to Eyecare Republic (ECR) members restores pricing control and reintroduces attractive margins. Because ONLY™ is not widely distributed, practices are less constrained by low advertised pricing pressures and aggressive online discounting. This allows for healthier margins while maintaining fair value for patients. In short, member-only contact lens brands like ONLY™ aren’t just a product, they’re a strategic business decision. ONLY™ provides your practice with immediate potential revenue growth and long-term stability through higher lifetime patient value and reduced revenue volatility. When implemented thoughtfully, it increases patient retention, loyalty, trust, and profitability all at the same time, positioning your practice for long-term growth in an increasingly competitive market.
Consumers Are Excited to Try NEW Private Label Brands
In the consumer products industry, private labels or exclusive brands generate over $238 billion in sales, and that has grown 273% in the last 15 years as more consumers look for value and quality combined. As a result of social media and consumer retention strategies by major retail companies, the perception of private label products continues to be elevated, especially with the younger generation. In a recent study by PDG Insights, roughly 70% of consumers between the ages of 18-40 responded that they are “excited to try new private label products” (cited from Diana Sheehan in Beyond Value: How Private Label is Winning Over Consumers).
Currently, the private label brands offered to independent ODs are owned or tied to large optical corporations who charge hefty monthly membership fees and/or who are selling the exact same brands in their competing retail locations. When is exclusive really exclusive? When taking inventory of all the brands an average OD has in their practice, how many are available at LensCrafters, Pearle, Sunglass Hut, Costco, or Visionworks across the street? ONLY™ One-Day Contact Lenses redefines exclusivity and is not tied to any of the Optical Titans that have consolidated this industry.
For more information about Eyecare Republic and free membership, please contact Rita Shallin, director of membership, at rshallin@eyecarerepublic.com or 203-451-1525 — or visit www.eyecarerepublic.com.
ECR is launching its first member-only daily contact lenses in April to provide independent ODs with immediate potential revenue growth and long-term stability. For more information and to sign up for access to the ECR member-exclusive daily contact lens, please visit ONLY™.
By James DeBois, president of JSJD Media, which partners with Eyecare Republic to support independent ECPs.
