NEW YORK—The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations decreased last week, Aug. 29 – Sept. 4 at a rate of -2 index point. That places gross revenue at a level 11 index points above where it was at this point in time (Week 36) when compared with last year, 4 points above the same period in 2020, and 30 points above 2019, according to Jobson’s most recent Practice Performance Tracker. All optical sales categories were down or flat last week when compared with the previous week, at rates of -2 index point for gross revenue and contact lenses, -3 index points for exams/refractions, -1 index points for lens pairs and no change for frame units.
 
When comparing last week’s optical sales with the same period last year, all categories were up, ranging from the highest increase of 11 index points for gross revenue to the lowest increase of 3 index points for contact lenses. The other categories increased at rates of 5 index points for frame units, 4 points for lens pairs and 7 points for exams/refractions.
 
With all optical sales decreasing or remaining unchanged last week, only one category reached levels above an average week in 2019—the index baseline assigned a value of 100 for this Optical Business Tracker. These ranged from a high of 113 index points for gross revenue to a low of 93 index points for contact lenses. The other three categories reached 99 index points for frame units, 100 points for lens pairs, and 99 points for exams/refractions.
 
Jobson Optical Research selected 1,500 optical locations that have been operating and reporting their sales to its partners, GPN and ABB Analytics, since 2019. The index has been rebased to an average week in 2019. Going forward, this new index base will be used as an arbitrary benchmark and assigned a value of 100.
 
Click here to view the complete Jobson COVID-19 Performance Tracker