NEW YORK—With COVID-19 cases in the U.S. at six million and 29 states reporting increasing numbers of cases, according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker, U.S. optical sales experienced slight reductions on a national level for the week ending Aug. 30. Overall gross revenue at ECP locations was down 2 index points for the week ending Aug. 30 as compared to the week prior. 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.

For the week ending Aug. 30, contact lenses were down the most (-4 index points), and lens pairs were down the least (-1 index point). In addition to gross revenue, exams/refractions, and frame units were also down 2 index points.

Nearly all practices across the country are open for business, as evidenced by the 14th wave of Jobson Optical Research’s ECP Coronavirus Survey, for the period of August 21-27. However, the decline in overall national optical sales corresponds with a decrease in the average number of patients being seen per day, from 25.7 before the pandemic to 22.4 during the current survey period.

On a regional basis, optical sales were down across the board over this past week. The one bright spot was in the West, which experienced increases of 2 index points for gross revenue and frame units, and 1 index point for exams/refractions and lens pairs.

Other than being up 1 index point for exams/refractions, the Northeast experienced downturns in all categories as did the South and Midwest. This corresponds with the fact that while all four census regions being tracked reported some states with increasing numbers of cases of COVID-19, according to the CDC COVID Data Tracker. Both the Northeast and the West had only four states with more coronavirus cases over the past week, while the South and Midwest had far more, with 10 and 11 respectively.

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.