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Consumers Reluctant to Switch to Vista
Published by Omkar Joshi | Filed under Microsoft, Windows, Vista
Harris Interactive has recently released a study of US consumers’ intentions about purchasing Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista. Last December the number saying that they would wait till upgrading was 31 percent, however the latest figures in March have more than doubled to 67 percent.
The Harris Interactive poll asked consumers about their intention to upgrade or switch their primary home PC to Windows Vista within the next 12 months. Of those surveyed 60 percent of the 2 223 adults said Vista would have no impact on when they would make their next PC purchase.
Before Vista’s consumer launch in late January, the number of people aware of Vista was a mere 47 percent of those surveyed, compared with 87 percent post-launch. This indicated Microsoft’s marketing had been very effective in raising Vista awareness, however sales remained low.
Milton Ellis, vice president of Harris Interactive Technology Group, said in a statement, “In order to generate that ‘Wow’ factor, Microsoft will have to put forth a value proposition that will move the majority to the upgrade category in the years ahead. Vista promised better performance, reliability, security and a revolutionary user interface-but it appears consumers looking to upgrade are not ready to buy into the promise, whereas new computer buyers will want the latest and greatest.”
Microsoft’s marketing problems with Vista occur as a result of people buying differently in an established market than a growth market, and also as a result of Microsoft finally meeting a worthy competitor: itself.
For most people, Windows XP is going to be good enough. Windows XP is a great product, supported by lots of applications and hardware. Web 2.0 has provided new ways for consumers to extend the value of XP, without having to jump to Vista and without the hassles associated with switching.
The maturity of the PC market and Windows XP have both contributed to the dismal sales figures of Vista. While Vista is easier and more pleasant to use, the operating system isn’t exceptionally better, like it’s touted to be.
Whenever a new product enters the market to displace an existing product, it must offer a significantly better experience. DVDs rapidly replaced VHS tapes because the experience for consumers was so much better, in terms of picture quality, durability, navigability and usability. HDTV and big-screen TV sales are also high for similar reasons. In contrast, high-definition DVDs are better than standard DVDs, but are not significantly better, which has led to their slow uptake. Similarly, Vista is also undergoing a slow transition, since somewhat better is not good enough.
With increasing Vista product awareness, it’s a bad sign that the number of people “not sure” about upgrading diminishes and the number planning to stick with what they’ve got dramatically increases. The goal of marketing is to increase awareness so that people will buy the product, not choose to stay with what they have.
Vista’s increased awareness and decreased intention to upgrade is a reflection of Microsoft’s poor marketing efforts. The fact that more consumers are choosing to stick with Windows XP means that the more people learn about Vista the less interested they are in it. Either it’s a marketing problem or something more fundamental.
Unfortunately for Microsoft and its partners, the latter reason may emerge as the main reason. Given that Microsoft is competing against its own very good product and most people already have PCs, Vista needs to be more appealing than Windows XP and the user benefits have to be made crystal clear.
Microsoft has instead increased complexity by introducing confusing new versions, adding features like UAC (User Account Control), and requiring extensive hardware or software application updates. The depth of the problem is also illustrated by the confusion over Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Ready. Another hurdle for consumers is actually purchasing Vista. Consumers must choose from four versions: Business, Home, Premium and Ultimate. This increased complexity risks making Windows Vista less appealing than Windows XP.
Even though consumers may not be rushing out to purchase Vista, the operating system will no doubt succeed eventually, simply because Microsoft holds a monopoly. However, it is in best interests of Microsoft and its partners that Vista succeed sooner. In order to fulfil this Microsoft must provide consumers with much better and clearer reasons to switch to Vista. Only time will tell if marketing is enough to fix this problem and turn Vista awareness into consumer sales.
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I think the main problem of a new OS is that a huge proportion of PC owners simply cannot bother to upgrade to Vista, so i believe that Vista sales will only truly pick up when current PC users are required to purchase a new computer.
Agree with Alkhhkla - although consumers would only buy vista if they’ve never seen it in operation and assume they’re getting something better…
MS is too widespread for poor unfortunate people to get away from Vista - it will infiltrate, though it does not deserve to!
For me, i dont like the idea of being forced to do anything. and i feel like microsoft is forcing me to upgrade to a though more appealing os, but fundementally and operationally more inferior os. too many problems with the operating system have been posted.Not to mention of the people i know personally who have upgraded and have had terrible problems with vista. when 2010 comes, i am going open source, i have already loaded ubuntu linux on my pc. i have 3 years to learn the new os. so far i find it facinating that so much can be offered for free, no frills and is less prone to viruses than microsoft os’s will ever be. I’m not going to be hijacked into being forced into buying anything i do want to, especially when its creators know that the os is inferior. i tell the truth. i dont sugar coat anything. vista is only beta. and those that know more than i about computers know why they are not going to upgrade to this inferior os. check out ubuntu with beryl, and i say to you, who needs vista anyways?
i believe that the reason for people not upgrading to vista lies not in microsofts marketing, but in intelligent decision making of computer owners and operators who know what vista is all about and are making intelligent decisions not to upgrade. your comment on why people are reluctant to upgrade to vista is somewhat insulting.
by saying that the primary reason is microsofts marketing rather than ones own intelligent decision making, leads me to believe that you think that the masses are just dummies who can be swayed with enough marketing push. well i can not. and will not. the prooof is in the pudding, and people are finally saying “no” to bill gates 3rd reich. thats what free market is all about. being able to choose what you want, and buy what you want according to free market. not being hijacked, lied to and being stuck with something you would be sorry for. there are much more things i would like to comment on, but this is enough.
@muzikjock58
I must admit Vista does have its fair share of problems, but there’s nothing that can’t be fixed.
As kyzersoze said, Microsoft does have a huge market share, so eventually Vista sales should pick up, especially after SP1. When Windows 98 was released, sales were sluggish for around one year, until the release of SP1. However, there are now many open source avenues open to consumers, such as Linux, which may put a slight dent into Vista’s sales.
well, my comment wasnt refering to market share, but to the inference that vista sales are low because of microsoft marketing instead of peoples own intellectual intuition. that seemed a bit arrogant to me to make such a comment. unless they clean up the os quite a bit, vista will not be sold to anyone i know, and i know alot of people, all of which can walk circles around me in computer know how. so, if its not being sold, it might be because it sucks, rather than a marketing gimmick. if something sucks, even marketing cant fix that, except for some suckers who dont know. everyone that i know that has installed it has uninstalled it and went back to xp. what does that tell you?.
Eventually Microsoft will phase out support for XP and there really won’t be any option left but to use Vista, unless you choose to use OS X or Linux. The majority of people are more comfortable with Windows since they have been using it for so long. In the end consumers will purchase Vista.
It sounds to me like you have “caved in” to bill gates “third reich”. dictatorship at its best at the corporate level. We dont need a political dictatorship, it exists on the corporate level. Im sure glad all of us dont see things your way. I hope you are wrong, but i think you are right. If microsoft puts out crap, we are going to be brainwashed into thinking its gold and give in to buying it.I guess people really are followers instead of leaders.Believe everything that they are told. I certainly hope you are wrong, and people really begin to see what vista will really cost them, and at a higher cost than the dollar amount they will have to shell out.I havent even begun to be able to fix all of the anomilies that i have with ubuntu linux, but one thing is for sure… what ever it cost me to get everything working, im already ahead 400.00 usd against those who chose vista.
thanks for your comments! I love a good intellectual conversation.