Retail in Optometry: A Guide to Success

Optometry Revenue Breakdown

Every business wants to make money from sales. For some businesses, retail sales are only a small percentage of their profit. Unlike other industries, retail sales make up the majority of revenue within the optometry industry and sales from glasses and frames are a critical part of the success of any optometry clinic. Revenue as a whole for an optometry clinic has two major groups:

Services performed account for roughly 20-30%. These services include exams, checkups, etc.
Retail/Hardware as a result of an eye exam or check-up, make up roughly 70% of the revenue pie.

This just proves how critical it is for any professional within the optometry space to have a firm grasp on retail and how to find success with it.

Tools to Find Revenue Success as an Optometrist

Flexible Payment Options

Buy Now, Pay-over-time

When it comes to paying for eye care, not every patient will have the same financial means as the next. According to a survey from Eye Care Professionals, 52% of patients surveyed don’t purchase eyewear or treatments for an exam because it’s too expensive, but 74% of patients say they would upgrade their lenses or purchase more eyewear if a BNPOT solution were available; what an opportunity to capture retail revenue that would otherwise be lost. Spend less time worrying about losing customers because of rigid payment options and invest in a BNPOT solution.

Luckily, you can invest in patient engagement software ¹that offers affordable and flexible payment options for patients such as Buy-Now-Pay-over-time or BNPOT. ²This option lets patients receive their eye products without paying the full amount upfront and allows them to make small, convenient payments over time.

Patients who can’t invest in this flexible payment solution are at risk of walking out and finding an online retailer like Warby Parker. Weave is a patient engagement software designed for small optometry clinics and offers BNPOT through Sunbit. Sunbit has a 90% approval rating and takes around a minute to complete the application process. There are also no hard credit checks or invasive questions, so it’s an option that your staff will enjoy bringing up with patients. You can learn more about Buy Now, Pay-over-time in this webinar.³

Selling your inventory online

Whether you like it or not, your patients are browsing online for prescription glasses and frames. Another tool you could use to increase revenue sales is to start selling your inventory online with software like Optify.⁴ With an online inventory, patients can pre-shop for frames, and pick out their favorites, making them more prepared when they walk in for their appointment.

This method will increase your capture rate since the patient has already engaged with your inventory and selected something they want to try on. This method will also save your staff time and help your patients become familiar with your product.

Private-label, in-house brands

Depending on age, the importance of buying brand-name glasses will vary. For younger patients who might put cost above everything else, they might be less picky about the brand name if it means a more affordable option. Older parents might have more money to spend and might value brand names over cost.

The best solution to market to both kinds of patients is to build your own private label with official branding and marketing. This way, you can offer the products at a lower price point and create a sense of brand loyalty. Check out this videofrom Dr. Chad Fleming to learn more about this idea.⁵

How Weave can help

Navigating the retail space for your optometry clinic can seem overwhelming without the right strategies and tools. Weave is here to help you with a variety of tools designed for your optometry clinic specifically.⁶Here are some of the most applicable:

Email Marketing

Gone are the days of pouring hours into the perfect email campaign only to wonder if it got sent to spam. With Weave, email marketing is simple and automated. Email marketing is a great way to keep patients up to speed on any promotions and deals you have running.⁷Making patients aware of deals and promotions through a nicely designed email doesn’t have to be time-consuming anymore and can be an ideal way to subtly market your brand.

Weave Email Marketing enables you to choose from a library of pre-written email templates and free images. Losing business to large enterprise retailers is a threat to many optometry clinics. However, with email marketing, your clinic can stay top of mind and your patients can get the first word about any specials or deals. To learn more about the benefits of email marketing and how to write eye-catching emails, check out this blog.⁸

Weave Eyewear Reminders

Do your patients understand the hassles they can avoid when they buy eyewear straight from you instead of going online? In-person visits allow patients to try on frames in person and get the right fit with your expertise. If adjustments are needed after the fact, they can get them done quickly instead of needing to ship anything back to an online store.

With Weave Eyewear Ready Reminders, you can automatically notify patients when their glasses or contacts are ready for pickup, and automatically follow up to make sure their new eyewear is fitting correctly.⁹

Online Scheduling

Are appointment no-shows, cancellations, and a less-than-full schedule cutting into your optometry clinic’s retail revenue? The more patients you can get into the office not only means increased revenue from appointments but also more opportunities to sell eyewear. With Weave Scheduling, you can reduce no-shows, schedule more appointments, and impress your patients, all without tying up your staff’s time.

Also, Online Scheduling now has appointment write-backs. Once you approve a request, Weave automatically creates the appointment in your EHR. Currently, Appointment Write-backs and Calendar Sync are only available for offices using OfficeMate & Crystal, with more to come in the future. To learn more about Weave’s intuitive online scheduling, click here.¹⁰

All-in-one Communication and Engagement Platform

We know that as an optometrist you didn’t go to medical school to master retail sales and ins and outs of marketing; you went so you could learn how to deliver exceptional eye care and help solve your patient’s concerns.

Weave is here to do the heavy lifting in the background so you and your patients are getting the best tools for success. To schedule a free demo or to learn more, click here.¹¹

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