By Evra Taylor
Friday, February 7, 2025 8:30 AM
The initial announcement of President Trump’s new tariffs on goods imported from China, Mexico and Canada threw global markets into a state of uncertainty and concern this past week, with fears of major economic fallout and key industry players formulating strategies to navigate a potentially more aggressive U.S. trade policy. The 30-day pause on tariffs against goods imported from Mexico and Canada, which were slated to take effect on February 4, has provided a brief reprieve, but with the looming threat of their implementation, the optical industry continues to assess the tariffs’ potential impact should the Trump administration enact the additional measures.
By Evra Taylor and Anne Cooper
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 12:24 AM
The optical industry continues to marshal resources and adapt as it assesses the impact that tariffs ordered by the Trump administration may have on revenue, materials, products and staffing. With President Trump having inked executive orders over the weekend that were slated to take effect on February 4 that imposed 25 percent tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada, with a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products, and a 10 percent tariff on imports from China, reliable news outlets reported that U.S. consumers and businesses could expect costs to rise on products ranging from groceries to gasoline to technology, leaving few sectors unaffected.
By Evra Taylor / Contributing Editor
Sunday, November 17, 2024 1:01 AM
How and where ECPs advertise job opportunities has evolved so dramatically over the years that the methods of outreach signify a totally new landscape. ECPs use omnichannel marketing driven in large part by social media and online job boards. There is consensus among the experts that, for the most part, traditional advertising modalities no longer apply.
By Evra Taylor / Contributing Editor
Sunday, November 17, 2024 1:00 AM
In the fast-changing world of recruitment, hiring and firing in the eyecare sector, a few things hold true: gone are the days when a competitive salary, bonus plan and matching 401K contributions were sufficient to attract and retain employees. These days, ECP practices and clinics have to sweeten the pot with incentives that address both hard and soft skill needs.
By Evra Taylor, Contributing Editor
Friday, September 20, 2024 8:30 AM
Google X coined the term “glass explorers” when it released its Google Glass prototype in 2013, allowing wearers to communicate with the internet using voice commands. Since then, the smart glasses sector has become conspicuous for its rate of invention and iteration. What has emerged is a plethora of devices, proving it’s not only the technology that matters, it’s how you interpret it. Today’s smart glasses feature augmented reality displays, voice assistant-equipped headphones and live-streaming cameras, allowing users to answer phone calls, listen to music, reply to messages and enable a voice assistant. These days, the question isn’t “What can smart glasses do?” as much as “What can’t they do?”
By Evra Taylor / Contributing Editor
Sunday, September 1, 2024 1:00 AM
Google X coined the term “glass explorers” when it released its Google Glass prototype in 2013, allowing wearers to communicate with the internet using voice commands. Since then, the smart glasses sector has become conspicuous for its rate of invention and iteration. What has emerged is a plethora of devices, proving it’s not only the technology that matters, it’s how you interpret it.
By Evra Taylor / Contributing Editor
Thursday, May 23, 2024 3:00 AM
Telehealth for eyecare is advancing at lightning speed through technology-enabled processes that allow the transition from in-person to remote scenarios. Over the past few years, this process has had a transformative effect on both practitioners and patients at both private practices and optical retail chains.
By Evra Taylor, Contributing Editor
Thursday, May 23, 2024 2:30 AM
Originating from basic teleconferencing models, technology-enabled tele-optometry has revolutionized the optical industry creating both a more patient-centric model of care and expanding ECPs’ practices in a quintessential win-win. With remote eye testing, optical companies are focusing their gaze on a novel approach—involving the consumer in their own health care journey, increasing their access to eyecare and reducing wait times, two major pain points in eyecare. In addition to self-administered, online visual acuity testing for prescription renewal, these companies are increasingly providing remote diagnostic services, expanding their reach into previously uncharted territory such as ultra-wide field digital retinal imaging. At the same time, eyecare providers have established effective guardrails to protect patients’ eye health, ensuring patient referrals to a specialist when needed, for example.