I'd suggest any such benefit is largely psychological to the user. You can find nearly any style/color you want and branding is difficult to ascertain from any appreciable distance. I tend to buy memory metal half frame glasses and I can't tell the difference between the "knockoff" zenni and my $600 foolish pair I bought at a mall.

The glass face of a watch is often called a crystal for reasons unclear to me.

I assume that it's because the better ones are made of sapphire.

I tend to be ridiculously un-careful with my specs except with how I clean them, my current glasses are regular plastic with no coatings and they haven't scratched yet. I wash them under warm water with dish detergent and my fingers and them hit them with compressed air or a micro fiber cloth to dry. I wonder how you are cleaning yours as my current pair are over a year old and I can't find a single scratch.

Mine are also regular uncoated ADC plastic, and I wash them with warm water + dish detergent + microfiber cloth. I then rinse under a thin stream of running water, slow enough that it has laminar flow, and I angle the glasses so the water hits the lens close to parallel to the surface. The water sheets off the lens without splashing and leaves it visually flawless. I always rinse the microfiber cloth before use to remove any grit or abrasive dust, and I avoid touching the lenses with anything but the wet microfiber cloth.

I clean the same way, but dry with a lint free cotton cloth. My lenses have AR coating though

I can attest to Zenni glasses, I have three bespectacled users in the family and have started to get them to bring home prescriptions. I've saved hundreds and they're happier with their glasses and their backups and their sunglasses. None of us are on transitions which seems like the best use case for a traditional Luxottica mall brand.

It seems to take about the same amount of time vs. a mall store.

I turned 40 this year, most of the developers I work with are older than I am. The answer is in Federal contracting.