GlassesUSA.com: How Guy Haimovitch uses product innovation to transform online eyewear

[00:00:00] Guy Haimovitch: Having the ability to daily meet many of our customers, hear them speak with their own voice, not just see their cursor move or look at analytics or stuff like that. Talk to real people. What are their fears? What do they need? What is lacking? What makes them happy in terms of service? And having that is invaluable.

[00:00:21] Kailin Noivo: Welcome to another episode of the Ecommerce Toolbox Expert's Perspective. Joining us today, we have Guy, who's the Chief Product Officer of GlassesUSA. Welcome, Guy.

[00:00:31] Guy Haimovitch: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

[00:00:33] Kailin Noivo: Awesome. So we have a lot of really cool topics on the docket today: AI, personalization… maybe talk to us a bit about your career journey.

[00:00:52] Guy Haimovitch: For sure. So I started originally as a developer… before even high school I started learning coding… eventually created my own company… realized I enjoyed product far more than coding… moved to Sears’ innovation center… worked on personalization, machine learning… then several other roles… and now CPO at GlassesUSA.

[00:02:25] Kailin Noivo: Very cool. Talk to us a bit about what it's like leading product in different industries—and why retail?

[00:02:47] Guy Haimovitch: I've been in marketing, moving, gaming… What drew me to retail and ecommerce is the clarity of value. No gray areas. People want a product, pay for it, and tell you if they’re happy. It’s simple, tangible, meaningful. When my kids ask what I do, I tell them: “I help people see and look better.”

[00:03:55] Kailin Noivo: Eyewear is deeply physical and personal. How do you bring something so dependent on fit and confidence online?

[00:04:33] Guy Haimovitch: Today only 10–15% of glasses are sold online—low compared to fashion. There are three reasons:

1. **Health** — prescriptions, technical terms, accuracy matters. 2. **Vision** — your most important sense. Trust is huge. 3. **Fashion + fit** — glasses sit on your face. Millimeters matter. Style matters. Confidence matters.

Buying glasses in-store is expert-driven and social. Online we must replicate all of that with technology.

And unlike most ecommerce categories, eyewear UX requires true innovation. Amazon’s not in prescription glasses for a reason—it’s medical, personal, custom. Huge complexity.

That’s why I chose this industry. It still has unsolved problems.

[00:09:03] Kailin Noivo: What product bets are you making to push penetration beyond 15%?

[00:09:21] Guy Haimovitch: Trust breaks down into:

**1. Trust in the brand** — TV, retail stores, even adding a store locator boosts conversion. It signals we’re real.

**2. Trust in buying glasses online** — many didn’t know it was even possible. We explain quality, assembly in the U.S., brand standards.

**3. Trust in handling your prescription** — people fear mis-entering it. So we use AI to scan and translate prescriptions instantly, explain lens recommendations, and guide you based on lifestyle (screen use, golf, flying, etc.).

**4. Trust in returns + service** — industry-leading 45-day return window. Progressive lenses take time to adjust; we give them that time.

**5. Virtual Try-On** — confidence in fit and appearance.

Combine all of these, and friction disappears.

[00:14:45] Kailin Noivo: And operationally—how do you manage next-day prescription glasses?

[00:15:15] Guy Haimovitch: We built our own facility in Atlanta. We predict which SKUs must be ready for same-day production. Not every product qualifies—readers or sunglasses aren’t urgent. We model eligibility based on historical data, location, day of the week. The system knows when we can hit SLA and when we can’t.

[00:17:11] Kailin Noivo: How important is physical retail?

[00:17:23] Guy Haimovitch: Major. First, brand trust. Second, invaluable customer insights. We see customer behavior firsthand—better than any analytics dashboard.

We also innovate in stores: - smart mirrors that pull live reviews of any frame - virtual try-on for SKUs not physically in store (we have ~20,000 SKUs; stores can't)

Offline + online together create the best experience.

[00:20:33] Kailin Noivo: Your team teased big things coming in 2026. What’s ahead?

[00:20:48] Guy Haimovitch: 2026 is huge. Two converging forces:

**1. FDA approval of online eye exams** — this will change everything. Customers can do the entire journey at home: exam → prescription → glasses in minutes.

**2. AI + LLMs** — “the optometrist of optometry.” AI will guide customers better than any human, combining global patterns of what works across millions of interactions.

**3. Custom 3D-printed frames** — coming soon. Analyze your face with advanced cameras, generate a perfect custom frame, validate with AI, fabricate, and ship next day. That’s the future.

[00:23:26] Kailin Noivo: Funny you say that—I lost my glasses two years ago and haven’t replaced them because the friction is so high…

[00:24:02] Guy Haimovitch: Exactly. And the tech already exists in Europe. The only blocker in the U.S. is FDA regulation.

[00:24:18] Kailin Noivo: Makes sense. You’ve sold me. Anything else before we wrap?

[00:24:34] Guy Haimovitch: Thank you. It’s a pleasure.

[00:24:36] Outro: The Ecommerce Toolbox Expert Perspectives is brought to you by Noibu…