ECP BUSINESS METRICS

With the majority of eye care professionals open for business (90 percent according to Jobson Optical Research’s latest Coronavirus ECP Study), sales are continuing to improve, albeit at slower rates than experienced over the previous seven weeks (other than the slight brief downturn during the week of Memorial Day). This week’s growth remained in the single digits for every product/service category following the previous week’s jump of about 20 index points for all categories. This smaller growth over the past week following more substantial increases experienced during previous weeks corresponds with the numbers of ECPs reporting opening in the Jobson survey – 6 percent for a week or less (as of the June 5-9 survey period), 18 percent for one to two weeks, 34 percent for three to four weeks, and 42 percent for a month.

REGIONAL BREAKOUT

Regionally, most product/service categories were up by index points only in the single digits, with three categories (lens pairs in the Midwest and frame units in the South and Midwest) remaining flat. As one of the hardest hit regions of the country, the Northeast continues catching up to the rest of the United States with the highest rates of growth for gross revenue and exams/refractions at 8 index points, yet it still lags behind all other regions in all categories by about 10 index points.

*The index baseline was developed by Jobson Research from total sales from an average seven days in the first quarter of 2019. This index baseline is equivalent to a score of 100. All other time periods going forward are calculated as a percent increase or decrease from the 100 baseline index of that period. This index is intended to show directional and magnitudinal change that the market is experiencing. Actual index scores are arbitrary meaning the baseline of 100 is simply used as a benchmark. Jobson Research shall not be held liable for any use or misuse of the data described and/or contained herein.

Please note that practices that use practice analytic systems tend to skew a bit larger and have higher revenue than practices that do not.

Source: GPN/EDGEPro and ABB Analyze contributed anonymous sales data used to determine gross revenue, exams/refractions, frame units, lens pairs, and contact lens boxes. Data was collected from approximately 3,500 independent eye care practices.

Consumer Sentiments

* Percentage of Rx eyewear users that are planning to postpone or cancel their Rx eyewear purchase until conditions are better. "If you need new eyeglasses or contact lenses while COVID-19 is still a threat, which of the following actions are you likely to take?"
** Selected answer option 8, 9 or 10 for the question "On a scale of 1-10 (were 1 = No concern at all and 10 = Extremely concerned) how concerned are you over the recent global COVID-19 threat and outbreak?"

Source: The Vision Council VisionWatch COVID-19 Consumer Sentiment Study: February thru May editions

For additional information, you may reach out to GPN/EDGEPro, ABB Analyze, and The Vision Council directly.

For more information from Jobson Research contact jwaller@jobson.com.