By Jamie Wilson
Monday, February 11, 2019 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—Influencer marketing has seen immense growth as social media platforms evolve, metrics become more sophisticated and brands lean toward creating more authentic connections with consumers. The continued dominance of influencers shows no signs of slowing down as a favored marketing tactic among brands both large and small.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, January 21, 2019 12:30 AM
As recently as a decade ago, a mention of digital eye strain (DES) would have most people scratching their heads. Today it’s ubiquitous, a condition of modern life. From toddlers to millennials to seniors, from city dwellers to shepherds in remote mountain villages, no one is immune from DES and its effects, which include dry, irritated eyes, blurred vision and assorted aches and pains. More than half of American adults suffer adverse effects from overexposure to screens, according to The Vision Council, which coined the term digital eye strain.
By Mark Tosh
Monday, October 22, 2018 12:15 AM
From Fitbit-type performance metrics to likes on Instagram and Facebook, Americans are infatuated with checking their status and/or tracking progress across various activities. While this tracking trend may be more common across personal activities, it’s becoming fairly standard in professional dealings, as well, to measure all kinds of performance. As the adage goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure.
By Andrew Karp and Jeff Hopkins
Monday, September 17, 2018 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—In today’s ultra-competitive service economy, the pressure to deliver products and services when, where and how consumers want them—the so-called “Amazon effect”—impacts all suppliers. Eyecare professionals and optical retailers are feeling the heat, and so are the labs they depend on.
By Marge Axelrad and Mark Tosh
Monday, August 13, 2018 12:30 AM
NEW YORK – Having the wherewithal to successfully compete as an eyecare professional and a business person can be a daunting challenge, particularly for independents.
By Staff
Monday, July 9, 2018 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—VM’s Most Influential Women in Optical report is, first and foremost, our annual celebration of the immeasurable impact that women have on all levels of our industry. Just look around and you’ll find women of all ages and backgrounds who use their knowledge and skills to build and lead optical businesses and eyecare practices while enriching the lives of their customers, patients, students and colleagues.
By Marge Axelrad
Monday, June 11, 2018 12:30 AM
Today’s optometry college graduates are such a diverse and impressive group of young people. It’s a reflection of the wide range of potential avenues and specialties afforded today’s students, who are just as dedicated as many of their predecessors, motivated by a strong sense of purpose in their involvement and future practice choices.
By Staff
Monday, May 14, 2018 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—A reshaping of the U.S. optical industry continued among the industry's largest retail and ECP group players last year. The 2018 VM Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailer's Report exclusively assesses 2017 calendar year sales, revealing new positioning among the Top 10 players within 2018's Top 50 ranking. Editor’s Note: due to some adjustments in the number of store locations and sales revenues for certain companies for 2017, this story has been updated as of May 15.
By Mark Tosh
Monday, April 16, 2018 12:20 AM
NEW YORK—Optical retail and vision care, like every other business today, are facing changes that are coming at a faster pace than ever, whether it’s more complex health care delivery models, new technology for eye tests and online purchasing and even outside investors with deep pockets. Everyone and every business is adjusting and rethinking their business models as they seek ways to more effectively deliver the services clients are seeking.
By Jamie Wilson and Stephanie Sengwe
Monday, March 12, 2018 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—Social media influencers have become just as vital a part of marketing strategies as any traditional method. In addition to marketing campaigns and creating ads, eyewear companies today are also infusing social media campaigns and soliciting the help of social media influencers in order to promote their product. They help communicate to the consumer the practicality of eyewear as a medical device and also the functionality of eyewear as a fashion accessory.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, February 12, 2018 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—At one time in our history, presbyopia
was unknown and unrecognized as a condition.
The reason? Life spans were simply too short.
Presbyopia is a special case of the lifelong process
of gradually reducing accommodative ability.
By Marge Axelrad and Mark Tosh
Friday, November 17, 2017 12:30 AM
NEW YORK—Investors are really, really interested in the vision care space. There have been almost 20 separate new private equity deals within the past 24 months alone, plus an additional series of deals which expand on prior ones, with more on the horizon. Directly, and by association, they are amping up the competitive stakes of virtually all eyecare and eyewear players and are setting the stage for a new posture for the industry to both consumers and patients.
By Staff
Monday, October 16, 2017 12:30 AM
LAS VEGAS—The retail business, or experience as it’s often called today, is being reimagined as physical and digital influences merge to create new ideas of what a store, or a practice in the optical world, looks like and offers to engage consumers.
By Andrew Karp
Monday, September 11, 2017 1:00 AM
NEW YORK—The history of the modern U.S. wholesale business can be summed up with two aphorisms: “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” and “Only the strong survive.” The first one applies to the dozens of labs that, over the past two decades, have been acquired by suppliers. The second applies to the wholesale labs that have remained independent. Both types of labs are represented in Vision Monday’s 2017 Top Labs Report, which ranks the industry’s largest labs.