The massive marketing campaign backing Microsoft’s Windows XP launch appears to be having its intended impact with retailers in the United States, with more than 300,000 units selling in its first two days on the market, according to data from NPD Intelect.
The Port Washingtion, N.Y.-based research firm said several factors helped push consumers to buy the new operating system.
“A huge promotional effort from Microsoft really drove sales of Windows XP in the first few days,” said NPD software analyst Steve Koenig. “At some retailers you needed a wheelbarrow to carry away all the free hardware and software products being offered with a purchase of XP.”
In comparison, Microsoft’s last Windows upgrade, Millenium, sold 200,000 units during its initial launch. But, perhaps in a sign of the times, XP did fall short of the 400,000 units of Windows 98 sold during its first days in stores, Koenig said. Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that about 100,000 pre-orders for the $99 XP upgrade had been taken prior to the Oct. 25 launch.
