Walmart expands virtual eyewear try-on, offers new high-tech glasses
Walmart is making more frames available for customers to virtually try on while adding high-tech glasses and a new proprietary contact lense to its assortment.
The retail giant currently operates more than 3,000 in-store Vision Centers selling private label and national brand eyewear products and also enables try-on and purchase of select prescription glasses via its e-commerce site and app. It is now making more frames available for customers to virtually try on.
Walmart introduced virtual try-on and purchase of prescription eyewear online through the Walmart app or directly on Walmart.com in February 2024 with 750 styles available. By the end of May 2025, that number will grow to more than 1,700.
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To virtually try-on select eyewear options, customers click on the 'Try them on' flag in the main image on the product page and allow the facial scan and view the glasses as if they were wearing them looking in the mirror.
Next, shoppers can customize the lenses and upload their valid prescription and then allow a scan to capture their pupillary distance measurements and add the customized glasses to their cart. Trained opticians in Walmart in-store vision centers across the country can help answer questions throughout the process.
Once an online shipment arrives, customers can visit a local Walmart vision center and work with an optician to get any finishing touches.
As part of the process, Walmart uses 3D data and advanced algorithms to create a digital twin of eyewear frames, resulting in what the retailer says is a more realistic virtual try-on experience.
Audio glasses
In addition to expanding its virtual try-on assortment, Walmart now sells EssilorLuxottica Nuance Audio Glasses, which combine prescription-ready eyewear with an invisible, open-ear hearing solution for perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. Unlike traditional hearing aids, Nuance Audio glasses offer an all-in-one solution that eliminates the need for separate devices.
The Nuance Audio Glasses are available at nearly 1,500 Walmart Vision Centers for $1,100 and can be purchased using vision insurance or HSA/FSA funds.
Contact lenses for astigmatism
Also, Walmart is expanding its private-label brand Eureka!, with the launch of daily contact lenses for astigmatism. The lenses are now available to order in stores and online for $69.86, a price the retailer says is approximately 20% less than the average national brand. Eureka! first launched in 2020 and now ranks as the No. 2 most-popular daily contact lens in Walmart Vision Centers.
"These launches represent where retail vision is headed: seamlessly blending style, tech and affordability," said David Reitnauer, VP of health & wellness, Walmart. "We’re proud to bring customers cutting edge solutions that feel both futuristic and totally practical."
Based in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart Inc. operates more than 10,750 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries.
