Most Potential Buyers of Microsoft’s Vista Take a Wait and See Attitude

On January 30, 2007, Microsoft began selling its long awaited new Vista Operating System software. Microsoft had become the butt of many jokes as pundits and analysts began calling the product "Long Wait’ as a parody on the development code name "Long Horn."

Well, the wait is over, the product is shipping, and it looks like nearly everyone has now read the memo. As Microsoft is saying in its new marketing campaign, the "WOW starts now." According to a recent Harris Poll, a full 87 percent of those online say they were "aware" of Vista. Hat’s off to Microsoft because they certainly have gotten the word out and their marketing machine appears to be running at full throttle. In December of 2006, one month before launch, only 47 percent of those online were aware of Vista’s existence. So awareness has skyrocketed since December!

These are just some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,223 U.S. online adults conducted online between March 6 and 14, 2007 by Harris Interactive^®. This survey was conducted about six weeks after the release of Microsoft’s Vista Operating System and is the second Harris Interactive^® survey about Vista. An initial online survey was conducted between November 30 and December 11, 2006, before the launch of Vista, among 1,028 U.S. online adults. Similar questions were asked in both surveys, with an objective to compare and contrast changes in consumer attitude and purchase behavior prior to and after the introduction of the new operating system.

Now that Vista is available everywhere and nearly every potential buyer is aware of it, does that mean consumers are eager to buy new Vista systems or upgrade their existing systems? Well in December 2006, 20 percent of those online adults who are aware said they intended to upgrade to Vista within the coming year. The current survey results say that number has not really changed – 12 percent of online adults who are aware say they intended to upgrade.

Unfortunately for Microsoft, with awareness skyrocketing, the results show that the numbers have not grown for those intending to upgrade their system. In fact, the majority of online adults say they will not upgrade their system in the next 12 months. However, Vista has turned a few heads with those considering purchasing a new system. In December 2006, 15 percent of online adults who were aware of Vista said they would wait for Vista to be released before buying their next PC. True to form, the March 2007 survey found that 20 percent did in fact wait for Vista before opening their wallet. Looking forward from here, one in five (20%) online adults said Vista will accelerate their purchase decision while three in five (60%) said Vista has no impact on their purchase plans.

According to Milton Ellis, Vice President of Harris Interactive’s Technology Group, "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 has faced this challenge before with operating system upgrades. Consumers tend to wait until a few service packs have been released to fix real or perceived problems. No doubt, Microsoft understands theses issues and will proceed accordingly."

"What type of operating system supports your primary home computer?"

Base: All adults who are online

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

*Less Than 0.5%

"-"No Response

"Microsoft recently released a new operating system called Windows Vista. Prior to this survey, were you aware of this new release?"

Base: March – online adults who have a home computer not supported by Vista

Base: December – Online adults who have a home computer

N/A*: Not applicable. In December, the response choices were just yes/no

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

Note: The base for March are all those who have a desktop or laptop/notebook computer at home that runs any platform except Vista

"Do you intend to switch or upgrade your primary home computer to Windows Vista operating system in the next 12 months?"

Base: Online adults aware of Vista

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"You indicated that you intend to switch or upgrade to Windows Vista within the next 12 months. Which of the following statements best describes how you will go about this change?"

Base: Online adults who intend to upgrade to Vista

"You indicated that you intend to switch or upgrade to Windows Vista within the next 12 months. Which of the following statements best describes how you will go about this change?"

Base: Online adults who intend to upgrade to Vista

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"How, if at all, has the introduction of Vista impacted your decision as to when you will purchase a desktop or laptop/notebook computer?"

Base: Online adults who intend to purchase new computer

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"Are you delaying the purchase of your next desktop or laptop/notebook computer until Vista is available?"

Base: Online adults aware of Vista

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between March 6 and 14, 2007, among 2,223 adults (aged 18 and over). The December data comes from a Harris Interactive survey conducted online within the United States between November 30 and December 11, 2006, among 1,028 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the online population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All surveys are subject to several sources of error. These include: sampling error (because only a sample of a population is interviewed); measurement error due to question wording and/or question order, deliberately or unintentionally inaccurate responses, nonresponse (including refusals), interviewer effects (when live interviewers are used) and weighting.

With one exception (sampling error) the magnitude of the errors that result cannot be estimated. There is, therefore, no way to calculate a finite "margin of error" for any survey and the use of these words should be avoided.

With pure probability samples, with 100 percent response rates, it is possible to calculate the probability that the sampling error (but not other sources of error) is not greater than some number. With a pure probability sample of 2,223 one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results would have a sampling error of +/-2 percentage points. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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