Andrew Karp, Group Editor, Lenses & Technology
Andrew has reported on many facets of the optical industry for
Vision Monday and
20/20 Magazine since 1987. He specializes in covering the latest developments in ophthalmic dispensing, spectacle lenses and treatments, lens processing technology, optical laboratories and wearable technology. Andrew edits
VMail Technology, a weekly e-newsletter that spotlights new products, software and online applications for labs and dispensers. He helps plan and produce Vision Monday’s annual Global Leadership Summit. Contact Andrew at
akarp@jobson.com.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, August 19, 2019 7:00 AM
While vision benefit enrollment remains significantly higher among older employees, new research from
Transitions Optical reveals that this trend may be changing. Today, Gen Z employees—who are expected to comprise one-fifth of the workforce by 2021—are more likely to enroll in and utilize their company’s vision benefits than they were just one year ago.
According to the 10th annual Transitions Optical Employee Perceptions of Vision Benefits survey, six in 10 Gen Z employees (ages 18-24) are enrolled in a vision plan—compared to just half of Gen Z employees surveyed in 2018. Additionally, 44 percent of Gen Z employees say that whether a company offers vision benefits has been an important factor in their decision to accept a job—reinforcing the value of talking up vision benefits when it comes to employee attraction and retention.
By Andrew Karp
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 8:00 AM
As smartphones and other mobile devices have become more widespread, 28 percent of American adults now report that they go online “almost constantly,” up from 21 percent in 2015, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 8 to Feb. 7, 2019. Overall, 81 percent of Americans say they go online on a daily basis. That figure includes the 28 percent who go online almost constantly, as well as 45 percent who say they go online several times a day and 9 percent who go online about once a day. Some 8 percent go online several times a week or less often, while 10 percent of adults say they do not use the internet at all.
Adults with mobile connectivity are especially likely to be online a lot. Among mobile internet users—the 86 percent of Americans who use the internet at least occasionally using a smartphone, tablet or other mobile device—92 percent go online daily and 32 percent go online almost constantly.
By Andrew Karp
Tuesday, August 13, 2019 8:00 AM
The holiday shopping cycle is becoming a year-round phenomenon. As Elizabeth Timmis, director, content marketing for digital media and marketing agency
Stella Rising pointed out in a recent article, with Prime Day now a July fixture, brands are seeking to engage the increasing number of year-round holiday shoppers who shop this way, whether to stretch out purchases or feel less stressed during November and December.
Timmis recommended that brands need to recover quickly from July sales and amp up their Q4 efforts, adding that the 2019 holiday retail season presents a paradox: higher anticipated sales in a shorter period. “This year will likely be a mad rush for those brands that do not get ahead of the game or solely bank on the Thanksgiving through Christmas period,” she said.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, August 12, 2019 8:00 AM
Data journalist Niall McCarthy of
Statista reported last week that TSA agents discovered that a passenger had a rocket launcher in his checked baggage in Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. He was identified as a member of the U.S. military returning home from Kuwait and the non-functional rocket launcher was a souvenir from his time spent in the Middle East.
But rocket launchers are not the only weapons passengers are packing.
Authorities found a record 4,239 firearms at U.S. airports last year, a record high, according to McCarthy. The Transportation Security Administration released the data, adding that 86 percent of the guns were loaded at the time of discovery while 33.7 percent had a round chambered. On a weekly basis, an average of 81.6 firearms were intercepted at U.S. airports last year. The number found has been rising steadily since records began in 2005. Back in 2007, only 803 guns were found in carry-on baggage, quite a difference compared to more than 4,000 today, McCarthy reported.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, August 12, 2019 12:00 AM
Remember Dean Martin’s big hit, That’s Amore? Who could forget a song that starts, “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.”