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Report: 'Eye care professionals need to adapt'
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NEW YORK — Here at an Essilor press conference held during Vision Expo East, an Essilor executive shared concerns brought to light in a recently published report on the future of independent optometry.
Bain & Company, a management consulting firm, published a report online March 19, stating that "the next retail disruption" may occur among independent optometrists.
"Will the industry remain stable, with approximately 50% market share for overall vision care, or will it be forever changed by the same market pressures that have disrupted other industries like books, consumer electronics and independent pharmacies?" the report by Elizabeth Spaulding asks.
Howard Purcell, OD, Essilor's vice president of customer development, told attendees at the press conference, "We are concerned about independent optometry. My father was an independent OD and I practiced with him. Independent optometry is under threat."
According to the Bain & Company report, working in optometrists' favor is the fact that the majority of consumers prefer their local independent optometrists for comprehensive eye exams.
However, a Bain & Company survey showed that 41% of consumers said they would purchase contact lenses online over the next 12 months, 22% said they would research products online and 21% said they would purchases glasses online.
The Bain report suggests that, in order to survive, independent optometrists must "have a stronger materials offering, more transparent pricing, online scheduling for exams, availability of materials to buy or pick up easily in store and faster production of new glasses, while continuing to provide the same personalized service that won them loyalty up to this point."
"The American Optometric Association has reported that 500 ODs sell their practices every year," Dr. Purcell said at the press conference. "The majority of graduates want to go into independent practice. We need to create opportunities for them."
The full report is available here.