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 September 2015 increased slightly to 3.89 from an August 2015 rating of 3.88. Additionally, compared to September 2014, the rating is slightly up from 3.71, and when further compared to September 2013, the rating increased more, compared to a rating of 3.56.
According to the report, January through September ratings for independents’ attitudes about Overall Optical are up by 3.1 percent over the same period in 2014. The average ratings for January through September 2015 stood at 3.85. That compares to 3.74 in 2014 and 3.70 in 2013. The confidence rating, a measuring of independent eyecare professionals’ outlook for overall optical retail business for the upcoming six months, was up slightly, showing a rating of 3.93 as compared to August’s 3.87. The September 2015 rating of 3.93 compared to 3.77 in 2014 and 3.67 in 2013. The average rating for January through September 2015 stood at 3.91, the highest of January through September 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 September 2015
Additionally, the September 2015 monthly scores for eyeglasses, exams and contact lenses all showed increases from the previous year. The September rating for eyeglasses rose from 3.67 in 2014 to 3.83 in 2015 (and further compared to 3.49 in 2013); the rating for exams rose from 3.77 in 2014 to 3.92 in 2015 (and further compared to 3.57 in 2013); and the rating for contact lenses rose from 3.67 in 2014 to 3.80 in 2015 (compared to 3.47 in 2013).
SOURCE: Jobson Optical Research Business Barometer for September 2015
Year-to-date average ratings for January through September 2015 for eyeglasses, eye exams and contact lenses all showed some increase in September 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 and 2013. Average eyeglass ratings for January through September 2015 stood at 3.82, compared to 3.70 for the same period in 2014 and 3.66 in 2013. Average year-to-date ratings for exams stood at 3.88, compared to 3.79 for the same period in 2014 and 3.71 in 2013. Contact lens ratings for January through September 2015 stood at 3.70, compared to 3.62 for the same period in 2014 and 3.56 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 increase in September 2015 to 103.0 from a revised 101.3 in August 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 September 2015
Regional scores for the overall optical industry year-to-date average rating stood at 3.78 in the Northeast, 3.93 in the South, 3.84 in the Midwest and 3.86 in the West.
For more information, visit jobsonresearch.com/obb or contact Jennifer Waller at (212) 274-7164 or jwaller@jobson.com.