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NEW YORK—The Centers for Disease Control reported that the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. decreased slightly last week, with a nationwide total of 41,893 new cases as of Aug.16. Although public health experts are warning of a possible upsurge of COVID-19 cases this fall, sales of optical products remain healthy and are nearing pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest Jobson COVID-19 Practice Performance Tracker. On a national level, there was little change in optical sales in all service/product categories except contact lenses for the week ending Aug. 16. Tiny upticks of only 1 or 2 index points indicate a relatively flat market for gross revenue, exams/refractions, frame units and lens pairs, while sales of contact lenses were down slightly by -3 index points.

Even as COVID-19 spreads throughout the country, how have optical sales maintained a healthy level of activity, particularly over the past five weeks, returning nearly to the level they reached just prior to the pandemic? One reason may be found by taking a closer look at the capture rate, according to data provided by GPN/EDGEPro. For example, the capture rate for frames was up 4 percent in July and 3 percent in August of 2020 when compared with the same months of 2019, and the capture rate for lenses was up 5 percent in July and 4 percent in August this year when compared with those months last year.

Regionally, optical sales fluctuated more widely than on a national level. The Northeast experienced the largest increases in sales this past week after lagging behind the other categories during previous weeks. Gross revenue, frame units and lens pairs grew by 6 index points in the Northeast. Even contact lens sales in the Northeast increased by 4 index points while all other regions experienced declines of either -3 or -4 index points for contact lenses. Most other regions were relatively flat for most categories, ranging mostly from 0 to 2 index points, with exams/refractions the slight standouts increasing by 3 index points in the South and the West.

The Jobson COVID-19 Practice Performance Tracker data is compiled by Jobson Research from GPN and ABB Analyze data. Another element of the report illustrates Consumer Sentiments about the COVID-19 response and purchasing intentions, with data supplied by The Vision Council.

Click here to view the complete Jobson COVID-19 Performance Tracker.