This tracker measures sales trends comparing pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic.

We selected 1,500 optical locations that have been operating and reporting their sales to our partners, GPN and ABB Analytics, since 2019. We re-based the index to an average week in 2019. This new index base will be used as an arbitrary benchmark and assigned a value of 100.

GROSS REVENUE 3-YEAR TREND

The Memorial Day holiday led to declines in ECPs’ gross revenue last week (May 31-June 6), the 23rd week of 2021. While the comparable 23rd weeks of 2019 and 2020 both exactly matched an average week for gross revenue (assigned an index value of 100) because neither included the Memorial Day holiday, and 2020 was also recovering from COVID’s impact by that time, gross revenue for this past week fell 17 index points below the levels achieved the past two years during the same time period.

BUSINESS METRICS

All categories of optical sales experienced substantial decreases over the course of last week (May 31-June 6), primarily due to the Memorial Day holiday. As usual, contact lens sales were the outlier, with sales declining at a lower rate than all other categories. Contact lens sales decreased at a rate of -8 index points, while all other categories’ sales declines ranged from -16 index points (for exams / refractions) to -18 index points (for lens pairs).

SNAPSHOT

Steep declines in optical sales last week (May 31-June 6) brought all categories to levels far below where they had been during an average week in 2019. With sales of contact lenses falling at less than half the rate of all other categories last week, they ended up at a higher level than three of the four other categories (frame units, lens pairs, and exams / refractions).

*The index baseline was developed by Jobson Research from total sales from an average week in 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 1,500 independent eye care practices.

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

you may also reach out to GPN/EDGEPro and ABB Analyze directly.