In July, the outlook of independent ECPs toward business rose for a second month, according to the latest edition of Jobson Optical Research’s Optical Business Barometer (OBB). Reaching a peak at 3.9 in March, the OBB index reflecting independents’ outlook dipped in April to 3.6 and again in May to 3.4. The results for June 2011 rose to 3.6. For July, the Barometer is at a score of 3.7, a rise from both the previous month and also from the same month last year, when the index was at 3.5.
“In general, 2011 is receiving somewhat higher ratings than the same months in 2010 so far this year,” the report said, adding, “However, confidence that business will continue to outpace 2010 for the rest of the year appears soft.”
The OBB is a monthly survey 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 independent optical locations. Conducted online by Jobson Optical Research, the OBB is designed to measure attitudes of independent eyecare professionals about the current business climate and outlook. The OBB is based on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is “very negative”, 3 is “neutral” and 5 is “very positive.”
The OBB reported that ratings for eyeglasses remained the same in July as in June 2011, at an index of 3.6, while contact lenses and eye exams saw increased ratings in July over June. Contact lenses and eye exams this month saw an increase over July 2010. For eyeglasses, contact lenses and exams, the current month’s ratings also outpaced those for April and May.
Similarly, ratings in July increased for the Northeast and Midwest U.S. Census regions while the South and West remained steady with the previous month.
“Ratings from locations with annual estimated dollar volumes in excess of $425,000 were significantly higher than lower volume locations,” the OBB added.
The National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB), Index of Small Business Optimism for July 2011 decreased once again to 89.9, down 0.9 points from June’s score of 90.8.
The findings of the OBB are also compared to those in the Consumer Confidence Index from the Conference Board. For July, the index stands at 59.5, up 1.9 from a revised score of 57.6 for June.
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