NEW YORK—Keeping in trend with recent months, the Jobson Research Optical Business Barometer (OBB) showed a slight increase this month for January 2013 ratings. The OBB, a monthly gauge of business attitudes among independent ECPs, showed an index of 3.8 for January as compared to a 3.7 index measured in December 2012. The rating for January 2013 matches that of January 2012, which also stood at 3.8.

The rating for January 2013 is higher than that of January 2011 and January 2010, which both stood at 3.6. In rating the confidence level for the upcoming six months, ECP attitudes produced an index of 3.8 in January 2013 as compared to a 3.7 in December 2012, showing a slight increase. Ratings for January 2012 also indexed at 3.8, rising slightly from the 3.7 rating reached in both January 2011 and 2010.

Independents' January business ratings reflected a continued trend toward positive attitudes among ECPs regarding the specific areas of exams, eyeglasses and contact lenses. Both eyeglasses and exam ratings increased from 3.7 indexes in December to 3.8 ratings in January, and contact lenses remained at 3.6, as compared to 3.4 in November.

The OBB is a monthly survey of a representative sample of independent optical retailers (single locations or groups of no more than three locations) designed to gauge the trends of eyecare professionals at these locations. The survey is conducted online by Jobson Optical Research to measure attitudes of independent ECPs about the current business climate and outlook based on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is "very negative" and 5 is "very positive," with 3 representing "neutral."

OBB ratings are further compared to findings from the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey. The latest survey findings revealed a decrease from a revised index of 66.7 in December to a 58.6 in January.

The OBB is sponsored by International Vision Expo. For a full report complete with charted progress, visit VisionMonday.com.