Window 7 Sees Strong Start: NPD

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 11/6/2009

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Port Washington, N.Y. - Microsoft's Windows 7 is off to a strong start, according to The NPD Group, which said sales of Windows 7 boxed software were 234 percent higher in the first week of launch than those of its Vista predecessor.

Revenue growth also soared 82 percent beyond Vista's sales, although it was tempered by pre-sale discounts and other promotions.

The average selling price on Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for the week ending Oct. 24 was $76. The average selling prices for the Windows 7 Pro Upgrade and Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack User Upgrade was $147 and $149, respectively, said NPD.

"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, NPD's industry analysis VP. "In a slow environment for packaged software Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles."

PC hardware sales also climbed during the week ending Oct. 24, but not as dramatically as during the launch of Vista. NPD said PC sales growth was higher than any week during the back-to-school third quarter, up 49 percent in units year-over-year and up 95 percent over the week prior to launch. But, during the Vista launch, PC sales grew at a higher rate of 68 percent over the prior year and 170 percent over the week preceding the launch. So Windows PC sales were down 6 percent compared with PC sales during the Vista launch week.

Baker noted however that Vista launched during January, a stronger seasonal month for PC sales.

Note: NPD's calculation of Windows 7 sales for the week of Oct. 18-24 included Windows 7 pre-sales.