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ALEXANDRIA, Va.—More than one-third of U.S. adult consumers were staying in touch with their eyecare provider in March and April, even with most offices shut down and ECPs prevented from making in-person contact or visiting with patients. This was one of the findings in April’s COVID-19 Optical Impact Consumer Study conducted by The Vision Council. The study, which launched in February and has continued as part of The Vision Council’s monthly VisionWatch consumer survey, gauges consumers’ level of concern about the COVID-19 pandemic and tracks trends related to their interactions with eyecare providers, eye exam intent and eyewear purchases.

“As the complex implications of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to impact our industry, we have been closely monitoring how consumer sentiment is changing,” The Vision Council chief executive officer Ashley Mills said. “By tracking daily response patterns, the research team has been able to identify subtle shifts in consumer sentiment toward eyecare and vision correction that are extremely important to understand. We are committed to keeping our community informed as the situation continues to evolve.”

A few of the April study's findings were released this week and a more detailed review is planned for next week. The Vision Council’s research team will provide an updated view on consumer, member and eyecare provider sentiment and behavior at noon (EDT) Thursday, May 21, as part of the Member Insights Webinar Series. Click here to register for the webinar.

Other key findings from the April COVID-19 Optical Impact Study include:

• By the last week in April, 61 percent of the U.S. adult population were highly-to-extremely concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic, down from a high of 71 percent of the population during the week of April 5.

• The percentage of consumers postponing or canceling Rx eyewear purchases dropped from a high of 38 percent during the week of April 12 to 29 percent during the week of April 26.

• Consumers were most likely to be using regular telephone calls, email/phone text exchanges and social media video apps to stay in touch with their ECP during the COVID-19 crisis.

To access the full report, click here. 

The COVID-19 survey will continue to be conducted this month to monitor changes in consumer sentiment, according to The Vision Council’s announcement.