• by Sarah Mahoney , August 26, 2025

Staples wants people to know that it’s more than a place to buy a phone charger or drop off that Amazon package. The retailer just announced a partnership with Now Optics, which owns Stanton Optical. Located within the Staples stores, the shops will offer same-day eye exams, independent eye doctors, prescription eyewear and labs capable of producing single-vision glasses in as little as 30 minutes.

Staples, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, says the collaboration may also create “opportunities for bundled promotions and cross-category shopping.” The intention is to become more of a shopping destination by beefing up the retailer's portfolio of services, which already includes wireless and technology solutions, printing and shipping.

Stanton Optical, which has more than 300 locations in 32 states, says the shops within Staples stores will feature a curated selection of best-selling frames and popular contact lens brands. And depending on how well pilots perform, some may broaden clinical services to include dry eye treatment and diagnostic technologies.

The category is growing fast. The most recent report from the Vision Council says 240 million people in the U.S., or about 92% of the population, regularly use some sort of eyewear.

That translated to annual sales of $68.3 billion in 2024, up 2.7% from the prior year. Glasses lenses led the prescription category at $17.2 billion. “Plano” sunglasses, which do not contain any vision-correcting component, account for $17.8 billion.

Online options are extremely popular, including companies like GlassesUSA, Zenni Optical and FramesDirect. That’s especially true for contact lens purchases, with 39% coming from online sources, and plano sunglasses, at 32%.

But in-person shopping still plays a larger role. Key players are other retailers that have added vision to the mix, including Walmart and Costco. Luxottica Retail is also a heavyweight, owningLensCrafters and Pearle Vision. And Warby Parker, which began as an online-only option, has quickly expanded its physical store footprint to more than 300 locations.