Port Washington blog 'mixed' on Microsoft Office 2010 sales

NPD Group, the Port Washington-based consumer research firm, has some bad news for Microsoft regarding its newly-released Office 2010 software.

NPD runs frequent nationwide polls tracking consumer behavior in many industries. In a Tuesday blog, Stephen Baker, NPD’s vice president for industry analysis, says his company's weekly tracking service shows “the results are mixed" for the new Office suite.

“A strong product launched into a saturated market faces considerable headwinds,” Baker says. “Even so, sales of Office 2010 in general have to be characterized as a bit disappointing during the first two weeks.”

One problem: Microsoft is competing against its own previous version, Office 2007, which continues to sell well.

Also, this version of Office “was launched during a seasonally slow period for PC purchases which have, over time, proven to be a have a strong impact on Office sales.

The combination of these factors, plus the increasingly saturated installed base likely explains most of the initial weakness in sales of Office 2010.”

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