Ray-Ban Meta frames produced by EssilorLuxottica are among the fastest to sell out of any pair of frames at National Vision, the parent company of America's Best and Eyeglass World, according to CEO Alex Wilkes (Modern Retail). The retailer operates approximately 1,270 locations across 40 states, serves close to 7 million optometry patients annually, and first piloted Ray-Ban Meta glasses last year before scaling to more than 100 stores (Modern Retail).
Notably, consumers purchasing Meta glasses are not necessarily AI power users. Wilkes described use cases ranging from recording remote-controlled cars to translating restaurant menus and identifying flowers, indicating mainstream appeal beyond tech enthusiasts (Modern Retail). Critically for retailers, customers who adopt smart glasses also purchase the most premium lens options available, maximizing their insurance benefits (Modern Retail). The smart glasses category has grown 233% in revenue to $436 million over the 12 months ending May (Modern Retail), and EssilorLuxottica sold over 7 million AI glasses in 2025 (Modern Retail).
Best Buy has opened experiential spaces in over 50 stores nationwide for customers to try Meta's AI glasses and VR headsets, with incoming CEO Jason Bonfig calling AI glasses a significant growth trend (Modern Retail). Retail analysts expect smart glasses to become the next major product category driving consumer electronics growth as smartphone sales have slowed, with competitors including Samsung and Snap already announcing new models (Modern Retail).