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By Alex Martin, OD
August 11, 2026
After reading both perspectives on frame inventory from The Divide, I don’t think either doctor is wrong.
In fact, I believe they’re both successful for the same reason—not because of the number of frames they carry, but because they’ve built an intentional strategy around their inventory.
The debate shouldn’t be whether an optical should carry 350 frames or 1,300 frames. The real question is whether the inventory has been intentionally designed to support the practice’s patients, business model and long-term goals. While I provide general recommendations, there is no universal “right” frame count for every practice.
Success isn’t determined by the number of frames on the board. It’s determined by how intentionally those frames support both the patient experience and the financial health of the practice.
TURN RATE TRENDS
One of the most valuable metrics I evaluate is turn rate. Turn rate measures how effectively inventory is performing. When practices continually add collections without evaluating productivity, inventory ages, cash flow suffers and valuable board space becomes occupied by product that no longer serves the practice. Conversely, inventories that are too small may fail to meet the needs of important patient segments and ultimately limit capture rate.
Practice size and capture rate can effect this numbers, as well as over or under branding. Many practices are overbranded and over-inventoried.
The goal isn’t maximizing or minimizing inventory. The goal is optimizing it. That optimization looks different depending on the practice.
A startup or cold-start practice requires enough inventory to establish credibility and provide meaningful choice across brands, price points and patient demographics. Early sales volume may not initially support ideal turn rates, but the assortment must still create confidence in the optical. As patient volume and capture rate increase, inventory productivity naturally improves.
High-volume practices often face the opposite challenge. Their sales volume may justify carrying significantly more inventory, but every patient still shops one frame at a time. Beyond a certain point, additional inventory can actually reduce the shopping experience by creating decision fatigue. Consumer psychologists refer to this as the paradox of choice—the principle that too many options can make purchasing decisions more difficult rather than easier.
Turn rate should always be evaluated within the context of the inventory category rather than across the entire frame board.
DIFFERENT BRANDS, DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS
A practice shouldn’t expect every collection to perform at the same level. Value and core collections generally carry higher turn rates because they appeal to a broader patient population and represent the largest volume of sales. Fashion and premium collections often have more moderate turn rates, while luxury collections typically turn the slowest. That’s expected because they’re serving a smaller, more specialized patient segment.
It’s also important to consider whether a collection is a pull brand or a push brand. Pull brands have strong consumer recognition and create their own demand—patients may walk into the optical already familiar with or specifically looking for them. Push brands depend more on the optician to introduce the collection, tell its story and generate interest. Generally, pull brands show a higher turn rate than push brands.
TYPICAL TURN RATES
Typically, a turn rate of 2.5x is goal for the total board. That’s the standard for each brand, although luxury lines may get closer to 1.5. Practices may even see a core pull brand, like Ray-Ban, likely achieving 4x or more.
The mistake many practices make is applying the same performance expectation to every brand. A luxury collection shouldn’t necessarily be judged by the same turn rate as a value collection. Instead, each tier should be evaluated based on the role it plays within the overall optical strategy.
Turn rate is one of the best indicators of how effectively your brand strategy is performing, but it should never be viewed in isolation. It should always be considered alongside capture rate. A practice may have excellent turn rates because it carries a very small, highly curated inventory. However, if capture rate remains below expectations, it may indicate the practice isn’t offering enough variety across price points or patient segments to meet the needs of its community.
Conversely, a larger practice may intentionally carry broader inventory to serve a wider patient demographic. While some collections may produce lower turn rates, the expanded assortment may contribute to a higher overall capture rate by providing more patients with products that fit their needs, style preferences and budgets.
INVENTORY MUST SERVE A STRATEGIC PURPOSE
Ultimately, the goal isn’t simply to maximize turn rate or maximize inventory. It’s to develop a balanced assortment where each category fulfills a strategic purpose, inventory remains productive and the practice captures as many eyewear opportunities as possible.
Every frame should have a purpose. Every collection should fill a strategic role. Additional inventory should improve the patient experience—not simply increase the number of options.
Practices with the strongest capture rates don’t rely on inventory alone. They align their frame assortment with pricing strategy, merchandising, doctor recommendations, staff presentation, patient demographics, workflow and the overall patient experience. Inventory becomes one component of a comprehensive eyewear strategy rather than the strategy itself.
This is also why turn rate and capture rate should never be evaluated independently.
A practice may achieve exceptional turn rates with a small, highly curated inventory. However, if capture rate remains low, leadership should ask whether the assortment truly meets the needs of the broader patient population.
Conversely, another practice may intentionally maintain a larger inventory with slightly lower turn rates because that broader assortment serves a wider range of patients and significantly improves capture rate. In that case, the overall strategy may be exactly right.
FIND YOUR BALANCE
Neither metric should drive inventory decisions alone. The objective is finding the balance where inventory remains productive while maximizing the number of patients who choose to purchase their eyewear from your practice.
That’s why I believe both approaches highlighted here can be successful.
Read The Divide frame inventory debate here.
Read how Dr. Martin maintains a 70% capture rate here.
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Alex Martin, OD, is an independent optometrist, practice owner, consultant and founder of Martin Consultants | Capture 70, an educational and consulting platform focused on helping independent eye care practices improve eyewear and contact lens capture rates. Dr. Martin has more than 10 years of experience serving on the Vision Source vendor team, including direct oversight and collaboration with frame and lens vendors. His approach to optical strategy combines his experience as a practicing optometrist and practice owner with extensive study of retail sales, merchandising and customer experience. He consults with independent eye care practices and lectures nationally on brand strategy, inventory management, optical retailing, patient experience and strategies to improve capture rate and profitability. To contact him: martineye@gmail.com |
