NEW YORK –According to Vision Monday’s third and most recent (Dec. 5 to Dec. 16, 2008) survey of optical retailers and ECPs, December’s sales and eye exam levels are only just slightly better than that was reported in our second survey conducted in late October/November– but respondents do indicate that their buying patterns have shifted toward more moderate priced eyewear as consumers become more discriminating about purchases. The first survey was conducted in August and featured in VM’s How’s Business Special Report from September.

 
In this exclusive web-only report, the charts below compare VM’s three latest reader surveys which query retailers and ECPs about a range of topics ranging from sales of individual optical categories like spectacle lenses, sunwear and contact lenses as well as the price mix of their frames and their profit outlook for this year.

In December, 40 percent of respondents said that the number of eye exams for the second half were “about the same” as last year’s period compared to 34.5 percent who said so in Oct/Nov, with 31.6 percent saying they were better in the period of Dec. 5 to Dec. 16 and 28.4 percent reporting they were down more than 5 percent in volume; in the Oct/Nov report, a higher proportion (31 percent) reported they were worse.

In December, 38.7 percent said they anticipated ending the 2008 calendar year with sales 5 percent or more ahead of last year, compared to 51.8 percent who said so in VM’s initial reader survey conducted in mid-August of this year and the 42.8 percent who said show in the second survey, conducted Oct. 24 to Nov. 4, 2008.

A higher proportion of survey respondents in December, said they were purchasing more frames in the $100 to $150 category and in the under $100-retail than indicated so in the prior survey. About 35 percent of respondents in December anticipated that their premium lens sales would end the year the ‘same’ as the prior year, while a slightly higher proportion (27.1 percent) indicated that sales would be worse, off more than 5 percent, from last year, than did in Oct/Nov (24.6 percent) – nearly twice as many respondents who said so in August.

The profit picture has also been clouded for many. While 41.3 percent felt that their overall profits would be down compared to last year’s, that number was slightly better than the nearly 43 percent of people who said so back at the end of October.

In December, only 36.8 percent felt the bottom line would be better than 5 percent higher than 2007’s performance – but that number was down significantly from the 48.2 percent who felt that way in August.

Still, some 21.3 percent in December felt their 2008 profit picture would be “same’ or “flat” compared to last year.