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 November 2015 increased slightly to 3.80 from an October 2015 rating of 3.76. Additionally, compared to November 2014, the rating is up from 3.72, and when further compared to November 2013, the rating increased compared to a rating of 3.58.

According to the report, the average ratings for January through November 2015 stood at 3.84. That compares to 3.74 in 2014 and 3.67 in 2013. The confidence rating, a measuring of independent eyecare professionals’ outlook for overall optical retail business for the upcoming six months, was up, showing a rating of 3.93 as compared to October’s 3.91. The average rating for January through November 2015 stood at 3.91, the highest of January through November ratings 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 November 2015

Additionally, the November 2015 monthly scores for eyeglasses, exams and contact lenses were all up compared to November 2014. The November rating for eyeglasses was up slightly from 3.67 in 2014 to 3.73 in 2015 (and further compared to 3.57 in 2013); the rating for exams rose from 3.78 in 2014 to 3.86 in 2015 (and further compared to 3.69 in 2013); and the rating for contact lenses rose from 3.56 in 2014 to 3.63 in 2015 (compared to 3.53 in 2013).

SOURCE: Jobson Optical Research Business Barometer for November 2015

Average year-to-date ratings for January through November 2015 for eyeglasses stood at 3.80, compared to 3.70 for the same period in 2014 and 3.63 in 2013. Exams stood at 3.88, compared to 3.79 for the same period in 2014 and 3.70 in 2013. Contact lens ratings stood at 3.69, compared to 3.62 for the same period in 2014 and 3.55 for 2013.

Jobson's OBB report is also compared to the Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board. The Consumer Confidence Index showed a slight decrease in November 2015 to 90.4 from a revised 99.1 in October 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 November 2015

Regional scores for the overall optical industry year-to-date average rating stood at 3.76 in the Northeast, 3.93 in the South, 3.81 in the Midwest and 3.85 in the West.

For more information, visit jobsonresearch.com/obb or contact Jennifer Waller at (212) 274-7164 or jwaller@jobson.com.