NEW YORK—The latest Optical Business Barometer (OBB) report from Jobson Optical Research shows that the overall optical business rating for January 2015 decreased slightly to 3.88 from a December 2014 rating of 3.91. January ratings stood at 3.70 for 2014, 3.84 in 2013, 3.81 in 2012, and 3.56 in 2011, making it the highest rating for the month of January in the most recent 5 years.

Between December 2014 and January 2015, the confidence rating, measuring independent eyecare professionals' outlook for overall optical retail business for the upcoming six months was also up slightly showing a 3.92 for January 2015 compared to a 3.88 rating in December 2014. The January 2015 confidence rating is higher than the confidence rating for the same period in previous years, comparing to 3.73 in 2014, 3.85 in 2013, 3.79 in 2012 and 3.68 in 2011.

The January 2015 monthly scores for eyeglasses, exams and contact lenses all showed increases from previous years as well. The January rating for eyeglasses rose from 3.66 in 2014 to 3.88 in 2015 (and further compares to 3.81 in 2013, 3.72 in 2012 and 3.54 in 2011); the rating for exams rose from 3.76 in 2014 to 3.92 in 2015 (and further compares to 3.80 in 2013, 3.81 in 2012 and 3.54 in 2011); and the rating for contact lenses rose from 3.61 in 2014 to 3.65 in 2015 (comparing to 3.63 in 2013, 3.60 in 2012 and 3.42 in 2011).
 
Jobson's OBB report is further compared to the Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board, which increased in January to 102.9 from a revised December 2014 index of 93.1. The high point of the Consumer Confidence Index occurred in January 2000 at 144.7 and the low point in February 2009 at 25.3.

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) designed to gauge the optical business trends of eyecare professionals at these locations and to provide them with a comparative "how's business" benchmark. It is conducted online by Jobson Optical Research based on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is very negative, 3 is neutral and 5 is very positive.

For VM’s full report, visit the Research + Stats section on VisionMonday.com. For more information, visit jobsonresearch.com/obb or contact Jennifer Waller at (212) 274-7164 or jwaller@jobson.com.