DALLAS—More than 500 eyecare practice online e-commerce “stores” have been built to date by MyOnlineOptical.com, the e-commerce initiative for independent eyecare professionals launched by Essilor just over six months ago.

Executives told VMail that the number of MyOnlineOptical online sites, most of which, as of today, are connected to practitioners’ own existing websites, already exceeds the company’s initial 2010 projections.

Of the online stores, which include those built for OD and MD practices as well as some for opticians, the vast majority are offering both eyeglasses and contact lenses for sale. The majority of sales—more than 80 percent at last estimate—have been in CLs and sunwear, although sales of prescription eyewear have been growing, too, with both single-vision and PALs, execs told VMail. While they declined to provide specifics, they said that numbers are changing each month—overall, about 10 percent of the sites have seen “active ordering,” defined by MyOnlineOptical execs as processing more than one order per week.

“Our intent,” said John Walborn, who heads the MyOnlineOptical team, “has been to enable independent ECPs with the tools to extend their practice online and provide them the technical and supply chain tools for e-commerce solutions—and we’re very pleased with our results so far.”

Added Matthieu Tagnon, director of internet marketing, Essilor of America, “Some are new practices, just out of school, others are more mature who’ve been operating for some time and are looking at ways to invigorate sales.”

Learn more about the status to date of MyOnlineOptical in the Sept. 20 issue of Vision Monday, posted on www.visionmonday.com today.