By Delia Paunescu
Assistant Editor

NEW YORK—In November, independent ECPs saw an improved outlook towards their overall business, according to the latest edition of Jobson Optical Research’s Optical Business Barometer (OBB). The Barometer is again at 3.5. Its index had previously been at 3.4, holding steady for the two months prior to Sept., when the index was also at 3.5. July and August of this year both had an index of 3.7, a rise from June 2011’s reading of 3.6.

In comparison, the index rating for November 2010 was 3.3, the report said.



A monthly survey of a representative sample of independent optical retailers (single locations and groups of no more than three locations), the OBB is designed to gauge the optical business trends of eyecare professionals at independent optical locations. Conducted online by Jobson Optical Research, the OBB is designed to measure attitudes of independent eyecare professionals about the current business climate and outlook. The OBB is based on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “very negative”, 3 is “neutral” and 5 is “very positive.”

The ratings for all product and service categories (eyeglasses, contact lenses and exams) increased in November of this year over October, the OBB reported. For the month, the ratings for all product categories were also higher than they had been in Nov. 2010.

The report added that future business ratings (independents’ anticipated results for upcoming six months) increased in November 2011 over October and were also higher than the ratings in November 2010.




The National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB), Index of Small Business Optimism for Nov. 2011 increased for the third consecutive time in sixth months, to 92.0, up 1.8 points from Oct.’s score of 90.2.

The findings of the OBB are also compared to those in the Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board. For Nov., the index rose to 56.0, up15.5 from a revised score of 40.5 in Oct.




For more detailed information featured in the complete report, contact Jennifer Zupnick of Jobson Optical Research at (212) 274-7164.

dpaunescu@jobson.com