Early Windows 7 sales 234% higher than Vista's

Posted on 6 Nov 2009 at 12:57

Early sales of boxed Windows 7 copies in the US are 234 per cent higher than Windows Vista's post launch sales according to NPD group's weekly sales tracking figures.

Actual sales revenue wasn't quite as impressive though, with figures 82 per cent higher than Vista in the same period. This is because Microsoft offered many early discounts and pre-order offers to build some momentum ahead of the 22 October launch.

"Microsoft's program of early low-cost pre-sales, high visibility marketing, and aggressive deals helped make the Windows 7 software launch successful," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD.

The research firm said that PC sales didn't get the same bump as they did when Vista launched, but it was the highest growth week recorded during the back-to-school period. Total sales were up 49 per cent year-on-year and 95 per cent week-on-week, which compares to Vista's 68 per cent and 170 per cent sales spur; overall, sales of PCs with Windows installed were down six per cent compared to the Windows Vista launch.

Baker said that there were a number of factors which impacted Windows 7 PC sales, but admitted that "the trajectory of overall PC sales is very strong leading into the holiday season."

From our perspective, it looks like consumers are hanging onto their existing machines and upgrading the operating system instead of buying a completely new PC. After all, Windows 7 hasn't increased the hardware requirements and, in some respects, it has reduced them.

Author: Tim Smalley

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