NEW YORK—After finishing July and starting August with positive momentum, optical sales on a national level recorded flat results for the week ending Aug. 23. This marked the second flat week out of the three previous weekly reporting periods this month, according to the results of the latest Jobson COVID-19 Performance Tracker. The tracker uses real-time information compiled by Jobson Optical Research. Within the optical mix, gross revenue, exams/refractions and frame units all showed results that were unchanged in the latest weekly period in the Performance Tracker compared with the previous week.

On a positive note, sales of lens pairs increased 1 index point in the week ended Aug. 23, but over the same period sales of contact lenses dropped by 4 index points.

Customers who are buying remain a primary reason national optical sales hover not far below pre-pandemic levels, however, even as 25 states reported increases in COVID-19 cases this past week, according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker.

Even though ECPs are seeing fewer patients, the patients who are making appointments and coming into the office are there to buy, as indicated in the conversion rates that are currently higher than last year, according to the Performance Tracker.

The capture rate for the week of Aug. 17-23 at 53.4 percent is higher than the rate recorded in the same period of 2019, when it was 51.4 percent, according to ABB Analyze data.

Regionally, the Northeast continued playing catch-up with the other regions in all categories except contact lenses, which declined.

Following sales growth over this past week, the Northeast has reached a level that is now within 9 or fewer index points of the national average in all service/product categories.

The Midwest maintained its dominance, achieving sales levels higher than the national average in all service/product categories. The Midwest has now reached sales levels comparable or higher than national pre-pandemic levels in all categories even while it contains the highest number of states (11) reporting increases in coronavirus cases over this past week, according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker.  

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.