NEW YORK—With the coronavirus Delta variant driving a rise in COVID-19 infection rates higher across much of the U.S., optical retail and eyecare practices began to show an indication they are concerned about this trend even as business in July returned to levels comparable to those seen pre-pandemic in July 2019. These were among the findings of Wave 25 of the Jobson Research ECP Coronavirus Survey. The survey was conducted July 26 until July 28, 2021, by Jobson Research, and was completed by 529 eyecare professionals. More than 90 percent of the respondents were either optometrists, ophthalmologists or optician/dispensing professionals.

The Wave 25 results showed the key metrics of optical sales and capture rate running 1 percent better than the levels of July 2019, and plus 15 percent and plus 8 percent, respectively, ahead of the levels seen in July 2020. In terms of overall revenue, survey respondents said this key metric was even with the 2019 level and 15 percent above the level of July 2020.
 
Respondents also reported that the metrics—patients per day and profitability per patient—were running just 1 percent below the July 2019 levels, while they were plus 30 percent and plus 16 percent, respectively, ahead of the year-ago results–definite indications that eyecare and optical have made a recovery from the lows experienced in the pandemic last summer.


Still, there are signs that many ECPs are concerned by the increasing number of new infections and hospitalizations related to COVID-19, and especially the Delta variant.
 
Asked about delays in product deliveries because of COVID-19 restrictions, 64 percent of respondents said they are experiencing these supply chain issues. (This was the first time this question was asked in the Jobson Research coronavirus survey.)


In a question about how comfortable the practice is about reducing the use of PPE because of the increase in the number of people vaccinated, 33 percent of respondents said they are “now” comfortable making this reduction, which marked a drop from the 38 percent of respondents who in June said they were “comfortable” about reducing PPE use in the office.
 
Similarly, 30 percent of July’s respondents said they are “not sure if/when they will be comfortable” reducing PPE use, which was significantly higher than the 23 percent of respondents in June who were unsure when they would be “comfortable” reducing in-office PPE.



The survey also asked whether practices about the level of concern they have about the possibility of having to shut down once again because of rising coronavirus cases. In July’s survey, 11 percent of respondents said they are “very concerned” about this, which was a move higher from the 9 percent of respondents who were very concerned in June’s survey.
 
Additionally, 34 percent of respondents in July said they are “not that concerned” about the possibility of another shutdown, whereas 48 percent of respondents expressed being “not that concerned” in the June survey.


In addition, the number of practices that said they are operating as “appointment only” rose to 62 percent in July, compared with 52 percent in June and 63 percent in May. The percentage of respondents who said their office was allowing walk-in patients for dispensing and/or eyewear purchases remained constant at 79 percent in July (same as June). This percentage was 69 percent permitting walk-in patients in May.
 
When asked if their practices could accommodate more patients than currently seeing, 66 percent of respondents said they could see more patients, a slight decrease from 72 percent in the June 2021 survey. Still, the primary problem holding back the 34 percent of practices that said they could not accommodate more patients is a lack of staff. Among this group of practices, 53 percent cited staffing as a reason that the office can’t currently see more patients.


Asked about lasting changes to their practice due to COVID-19, 39 percent of respondents said they would move to a “virtual sales call” process (compared with 36 percent in June’s survey), and 52 percent of respondents said they expected to move to an “appointment only” format (compared with 46 percent who expected to make this change in the June survey’s results).
 
Jobson Research has been regularly surveying ECPs and optical retailers since the COVID-19 crisis and shutdowns began in mid-March 2020.

Go to VM's Coronavirus Briefing section to catch up on all of the 2020 and 2021 Jobson surveys.
 
Click here to view a PDF of the full Wave 25 survey results.