Score one for Windows 7. The initial sales of the latest version of Microsoft’s flagship operating system surpassed Vista’s performance during its first few days on the U.S. market, according to the NPD Group.

Windows 7 unit sales in the U.S. were 234 percent higher than Vista’s first few days of sales. A combination of early discounts on pre-sales and a lack of promotional activity for the Ultimate version resulted in dollar sales that were 82 percent higher than Vista.

“Microsoft’s program of early low-cost pre-sales, high-visibility marketing, and aggressive deals helped construct the Windows 7 software launch successful,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD. “In a slow environment for packaged software, Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles.”

PC Hardware Sales Measured

While boxed software sales were up compared to the Vista launch, PC hardware sales had more of an uphill battle. PC sales growth was higher than any week during the high-volume back-to-school third quarter, but not as strong as growth during the Vista launch, NPD said.

Total Windows PC sales were up 49 percent year-over-year and 95 percent by the week before launch. However, PC sales growth during the Vista launch was stronger, soaring 68 percent by the previous year and 170 percent by the week preceding the launch. Windows PC sales were down six percent compared to PC sales during the Vista launch week.

“A combination of factors impacted Windows 7 PC sales at the outset, but the trajectory of overall PC sales is very strong leading into the holiday season,” said Baker. “Vista had a slight advantage at launch, as January traditionally has a bigger sales footprint than October. The other hurdle Windows 7 faced was that sales of PCs with older operating systems (XP and Vista) were high, making up…

[Source] dhiram