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NEW YORK—Even as the majority of the country experiences increasing COVID-19 cases, the U.S. optical business experienced slight increases in all service and product categories in all regions of the country, according to the latest edition of the Jobson COVID-19 Performance Tracker for the week ending July 19. There was an uptick nationally, ranging from an increase of only 1 index point for contact lenses and 2 index points for frame units and lens pairs to 3 index units for exams/refractions.

The Midwest, West, and South all show increasing cases of COVID-19, with the Northeast in general either leveling off or decreasing in cases, according to statistics found on the CDC COVID Data Tracker. However, the Jobson Practice Performance Tracker illustrates that all service/product categories except one (contact lenses in the South, down 1 index point) showed some sales growth over the course of last week. These small increases for all optical categories in all regions indicate that business continues even as the pandemic spreads.

Whether this trend will continue is yet to be determined. The optical sales increases experienced regionally range from the smallest increase of 1 index point (gross revenue in the South and frame units and lens pairs in the Northeast) to the largest increase of 5 index points for exams/refractions in the West.

Consumers' COVID-19 concerns remain just above 60 percent, according to the latest Vision Watch data from The Vision Council, while consumers' intentions to postpone or delay purchases of eyewear as a result stays steady compared to the prior two weeks.

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.