2021 IS SHAPINg up to be one of the strongest in years for America’s independent eyecare pros with almost 60 percent saying it will be “better than average” and one in five expecting it to be their best ever.
That’s according to the early responses to INVISION’s 2021 Big Survey, which is polling ECPs on the state of the industry in the wake of the 2020 pandemic.
The strong performance in 2021 marks a dramatic rebound from a year in which many ECPs saw their revenues slump due to shutdowns and stay-at-home consumers.
Some two-thirds of eyecare professionals reported flat or depressed sales last year compared 2019, with more than 50 percent suffering a setback in sales of 1 to more than 30 percent.
Respondents cited the need for “flexibility,” with many acknowledging the same shift to online in the eyecare sector that has broadly been seen in the retail sector generally.
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“Online, online, online,” wrote one ECP, while another described online eyecare sales as “becoming a monster.”
Others noted that despite lower sales in 2020, lockdown conditions are ultimately conducive to eyecare pros.
“People need their glasses regardless of any social crisis …They need them adjusted, repaired and replaced. During lockdown, digital eyestrain peaked and prescriptions were changing at an alarming rate amongst my customers,” said one ECP.
The 2021 Big Survey was launched in September, and we are still gathering anonymous responses from owners of independent vision businesses across the United States and Canada. There is still time to tell us how your business was affected. If are the owner of a vision business and haven’t taken the survey yet (and have 30 minutes to spare for this worth industry project), please do so HERE.
The full results of the 2021 Big Survey will be published in the upcoming Nov.-Dec. issue of INVISION.