NEW YORK—The latest Optical Business Barometer (OBB) report from Jobson Optical Research, which gauges the attitudes about their business and their business outlook among independent eyecare professionals, shows that the overall optical business rating for August 2015 increased slightly to 3.88 from a July 2015 rating of 3.87. Additionally, compared to August 2014, the rating is even staying at 3.88, and when further compared to August 2013, the rating increased from a rating of 3.72.

According to the report, January through August ratings for Overall Optical are up by 2.8 percent over the same period in 2014. The average ratings for January through August 2015 stood at 3.85. That compares to 3.74 in 2014 and 3.71 in 2013. The confidence rating, a measuring of independent eyecare professionals’ outlook for overall optical retail business for the upcoming six months, was down slightly, showing a rating of 3.87 as compared to July’s 3.97. The August 2015 rating of 3.87 compared to 3.94 in 2014 and 3.72 in 2013. The average rating for January through August 2015 stood at 3.91, the highest of January through August rating for the past five years.

The Optical Business Barometer is designed to gauge the optical business trends of eyecare professionals at independent optical locations and to provide independent optical retailers with a comparative “how's business” benchmark. The Optical Business Barometer is a monthly study of a representative sample of independent optical retailers (single locations and groups of no more than three locations). It is conducted online by Jobson Optical Research and is designed to take the temperature of the independent optical business. The OBB is based on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is very negative, 3 is neutral and 5 is very positive.

SOURCE: Jobson Optical Research Business Barometer for August 2015

Additionally, the August 2015 monthly scores for eyeglasses and contact lenses were even with the same period in 2014, while exams showed a slight increase from 2014. The August rating for eyeglasses remained at 3.85 for both 2015 and 2014 but increased from the 2013 rating of 3.68. The rating for exams rose from 3.94 in 2014 to 3.96 in 2015 (and further compared to 3.76 in 2013). The rating for contact lenses remained at 3.76 for both 2015 and 2014, but when further compared to 2013 showed a slight increase from a rating of 3.59.

SOURCE: Jobson Optical Research Business Barometer for April 2015

Year-to-date average ratings for January through August 2015 for eyeglasses, eye exams and contact lenses all showed some increase in August 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 and 2013. Average eyeglass ratings for January through August 2015 stood at 3.82, compared to 3.70 for the same period in 2014 and 3.68 in 2013. Average year-to-date ratings for exams stood at 3.87, compared to 3.79 for the same period in 2014 and 3.73 in 2013. Contact lens ratings for January through August 2015 stood at 3.68, compared to 3.62 for the same period in 2014 and 3.57 in 2013.

Jobson's OBB report is also compared to the Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board. The Consumer Confidence Index showed a slight increase in August 2015 to 101.5 from a revised 91.0 in July 2015. These ratings still do not surpass the Index’s high point, which came in January of 2000 with a rating of 144.7.

SOURCE: Jobson Optical Research Business Barometer for August 2015

Regional scores for the overall optical industry year-to-date average rating stood at 3.76 in the Northeast, 3.95 in the South, 3.84 in the Midwest and 3.84 in the West.

For more information, visit jobsonresearch.com/obb or contact Elana Lehrhaupt at (212) 274-7135 or elehrhaupt@Jobson.com.