PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, September 17, 2009 - Sales during the first two weeks of Apple�s Snow Leopard OS X release far exceed those of the last two Apple operating systems.� According to leading market research company The NPD Group�s retail tracking service, Snow Leopard sales were more than two times higher than Leopard�s initial release sales and almost four times higher than Tiger.
�Even though some considered Snow Leopard to be less feature-focused than the releases of Leopard or Tiger, the ease of upgrading to Snow Leopard and the affordable pricing made it a win-win for Apple computer owners - thus helping to push sales to record numbers� said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD.
Snow Leopard�s sales momentum extended beyond the initial first week purchasing rush. Sales only declined about 25 percent from week 1 to week 2, while for both Leopard and Tiger the second week of sales was more than 60 percent below the opening week volumes.
�With pricing reduced by more than $100 for both the single-user and five-user pack versus Leopard pricing, Apple has clearly demonstrated that aggressive pricing policies in this economic environment generate an outstanding consumer response,� said Baker. �As we head into the fall selling season, and the release of another major OS upgrade, it will be instructive to see if that upgrade - currently projected to sell at ASPs much higher than Snow Leopard - can deliver the same incremental increase in consumer demand that Snow Leopard has enjoyed.�
About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,700 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them�drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps�our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales,�merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, contact us or visit http://www.npd.com/ and http://www.npdgroupblog.com. Follow us on Twitter: @npdtech and @npdgroup.
