in a broad, current reader survey we ran just last month, a large number of eyecare professionals continued to tell us that online Rx eyewear sales are their top business challenge. In fact, over 30% of ECPs surveyed say it is their No. 1 concern today.

While managed care and insurance woes came in at second place, no other biz concern ranked as high as online sales. Is the wild, wild web keeping you up at night?

Fact: Online sales do continue to grow. 3.45 million pairs of ophthalmic frames were sold online during the first quarter of 2018—a notable 8.1% increase over the previous year—according to The Vision Council.

In our cover feature, Who’s Afraid of The Wild, Wild Web? starting on page 72, we reveal real, usable intel on three of the top online sellers today—from their frame-and-lens pricing structure to key selling/marketing tools. We also deliver 10 seriously competitive tips from four eyecare professionals + O.D.s.

On the lighter—yet still decidedly wild—side, we serve up fall’s seven biggest must-know eyewear trends in our special FrameBuyer section fashion feature, Fall Fashion, Now., beginning on page 58. Spoiler: dive into a season of animal prints, retro silhouettes, and vivid pop colors.

Fall is the perfect time to dig back into business and get a jump on 2019, so we hope to catch you at Vision Expo West this month (see our BIG Guide on page 77) and also at our parent company PentaVision’s very own Optometric Management Symposium (OMS), a stellar event to gain critical insights and continuing education credits. OMS will be held Nov. 1-4 at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club—OMConference.com .

We hope you enjoy the issue!

Erinn Morgan
Editor-in-Chief + Editorial Director
Eyecare Business