Wal-Mart cuts prices on contacts, kids' eyeglasses

CHICAGO, March 19 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) is extending its partnership with 1-800 CONTACTS and cutting prices on contact lenses and children's glasses.

The world's biggest retailer said on Thursday that it had teamed with 1-800 CONTACTS to reduce the price of a yearly supply of contact lenses by 12 percent to 50 percent.

Wal-Mart also said it had cut the prices of glasses and eyeglass frames for children and teenagers. It is selling full sets of eyeglasses for as low as $39 in its nearly 3,000 U.S. Wal-Mart vision centers, down from the previous price of $59.

"This offering is another phase, another chapter in our ongoing desire to reduce the cost of health care," said John Agwunobi, president of Wal-Mart's Health and Wellness division.

Wal-Mart has been expanding its health and wellness services, which are seen as a way to drive shoppers into its stores more frequently and help boost sales.

In 2006, it began selling some generic drugs for $4 per monthly prescription, a program it has since vastly expanded.

It has also opened in-store health clinics that offer basic preventive and health services, like cholesterol screenings.

1-800 CONTACTS, based in Draper, Utah, is a retailer that sells contact lenses over the phone and through its website. (Reporting by Nicole Maestri; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)