Expert view from the Optical sector
Braemar Finance recently conducted its latest Business Barometer research*, which examines current Optical sector trends and the view of business-owners about a range of issues, from the cost of doing business to recruitment and retention.
In this piece, we get under the skin of the data to find out more…
Cost of doing business
The cost of energy has had – by some distance – the most impact on Opticians’ income, with 47% selecting this option. Supply costs (19%), rent increases (14%) and staff pay rises (11%) are the next most cited.
Unsurprisingly, 92% of Opticians said they were taking measures to reduce their energy use, including, in order of most popular measures:
- Turning off the lights overnight
- Lowering the heating
- Looking at alternative heating and energy sources
- Replacing equipment with more energy-efficient alternatives
- Insulating your building
- Changed energy supplier
Unfortunately, close to a third (31%) of Opticians confirmed that they had considered closing their business as a result of rising costs, and 39% said they had made redundancies because of the impact of rising costs.
79% of firms surveyed admitted to passing on additional costs to their customers, either partially (58%) or fully (21%).
Recruitment and retention
Looking at staff vacancies and the impact of the recruitment and the retention crisis, 42% of Opticians replied that they currently have a vacancy to fill. A further 40% said they’ve struggled to fill vacancies in the past 12 months.
39% of Opticians say there is a skills crisis in the sector, and a similar number are currently finding it more difficult to fill vacancies than they did before.
The UK’s economic outlook
The majority (86%) of Opticians surveyed responded that they were either ‘very’(29%) or ‘somewhat’ (57%) concerned about the UK’s current economic performance. Despite this, 20% expected to expand in the coming 12 months against 23% who think they will contract; 56% hope to ‘stay the same’ – only 1% think they’ll close their doors permanently.
Eight in 10 of respondents confirmed they’d been impacted by rising inflation, and 62% admit it’s likely they’ll apply for funding within the year.
The environment
Despite the economic headwinds they’re facing, 64% of Opticians are working to limit their environmental impact and 79% have considered climate change and other environmental factors within their business plans.
A further 77% believe they can help tackle climate change and 27% believe they can achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050.
New technology
61% of respondents are looking to invest in new technologies over the course of the next year, and 72% stated they feel keeping up-to-date with modern technologies is a key differentiator for customers and a reason they may choose their practice over a competitor.
88% of Opticians are confident about being able to keep ahead of technological developments within the profession.
Methodology:*
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from a Censuswide survey conducted in February 2023. The survey canvassed the opinion of over 1,200 senior members of the professions across the UK on a range of issues affecting their businesses.
