National Vision (EYE) Citi’s 2026 Global Consumer & Retail Conference 2026 summary

Strategic initiatives and customer evolution

• Focused on increasing managed care customers, now nearly 42% of the mix, with higher average transactions and premium product uptake.

• Enhanced in-store selling behaviors and assortment to better serve managed care and value-seeking cash customers.

• Maintained value proposition for cash customers while introducing more premium options, with some cash customers trading up.

• Exam conversion rates and NPS scores have remained stable or improved, supporting the strategy's effectiveness.

• Category disruption from COVID-19 continues to affect cash customer purchase cycles, with normalization expected over time.

Brand performance and market positioning

• Outpaced the industry in eye exam growth (+1% vs. -7% for the category), driven by rebranding and communication strategy.

• Achieved all-time high unaided brand awareness, especially for America's Best, contributing to share gains.

• Shifted marketing from always-on promotions for cash customers to more segmented, targeted communications.

• Leveraged segmentation and clustering to tailor product assortments and selling models by store.

• Benefited from industry consolidation and disruption, capturing share from independent optometry.

Eyeglass World and operational improvements

• Established a distinct operating structure and media strategy for Eyeglass World, focusing on digital and streaming channels.

• Transitioned stores to a consistent doctor operating model, improving customer experience.

• Planned brand redesign and new value proposition for Eyeglass World in the second half of the year.