ECP BUSINESS METRICS

On a national level, there was little change in optical sales over the past week in all service/product categories except contact lenses. Tiny upticks of only 1 or 2 index points indicate a relatively flat market for gross revenue, exams/refractions, frame units and lens pairs, while sales of contact lenses were down slightly by -3 index points. Even as COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, how have optical sales maintained a healthy level of activity, particularly over the past five weeks, returning nearly to the level they reached just prior to the pandemic? One reason may be found by taking a closer look at the capture rate, according to data provided by GPN/EDGEPro. For example, the capture rate for frames was up 4 percent in July and 3 percent in August of 2020 when compared to the same months of 2019, and the capture rate for lenses was up 5 percent in July and 4 percent in August this year when compared with those months last year.

REGIONAL BREAKOUT

Regionally, optical sales fluctuated more widely than on a national level. The Northeast experienced the largest increases in sales this past week after lagging behind the other categories during previous weeks. Gross revenue, frame units and lens pairs grew by 6 index points in the Northeast. Even contact lens sales in the Northeast increased by 4 index points while all other regions experienced declines of either -3 or -4 index points for contact lenses. Most other regions were relatively flat for most categories, ranging mostly from 0 to 2 index points, with exams/refractions the slight standouts increasing by 3 index points in the South and the West.

*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.

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.