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NEW YORK—As U.S. coronavirus cases rose and spiked in many states across the country, particularly in the South and West, optical sales leveled off or dipped slightly in the week ending June 28, following nine weeks of steady growth (with the exception of the week of Memorial Day). These were the results in the latest Jobson COVID-19 Practice Performance Tracker. Service/product categories on a national level either remained flat (contact lenses), decreased by just one index point (exams/refractions) or by two index points (gross revenue, frame units, lens pairs). All service/product categories currently remain within 10 to 15 index points of their pre-pandemic sales levels.

On a regional basis, the Northeast was the one area that saw business growth for the week ending June 28, according to the Tracker, while the rest of the country declined slightly. While the various service/product categories increased at a rate of 3 or 4 index points in the Northeast, the service/product categories in all other regions declined at rates ranging from 1 index point (for a variety of categories) to 4 index points (contact lenses in the West). Overall, the Northeast remains behind the rest of the country but continues closing the gap with steady growth.

Consumer concern about COVID-19 did rise slightly in the period, compared to prior weeks. The Jobson COVID-19 Practice Performance Tracker data is compiled by Jobson Research from GPN and ABB Analyze data. Another element of the report illustrates Consumer Sentiments about the COVID-19 response and purchasing intentions, with data supplied by The Vision Council.

Click to view the complete Jobson COVID-19 Practice Performance Tracker.