NPD Reports Tech Benches Account for an Increasing Amount of In-Store Security Software Sales
Port Washington, NY, July 23, 2009 â€" Retail tech bench (computer service department) sales of security software were the bright spot in the otherwise declining market for retail packaged software. According to a new report, Security Software, from leading market research company The NPD Group, 18 percent of all in-store security software purchases in 2009 were made at tech benches inside retail stores, up from 11 percent in 2008.
(Media-Newswire.com) - Port Washington, NY, July 23, 2009 – Retail tech bench ( computer service department ) sales of security software were the bright spot in the otherwise declining market for retail packaged software. According to a new report, Security Software, from leading market research company The NPD Group, 18 percent of all in-store security software purchases in 2009 were made at tech benches inside retail stores, up from 11 percent in 2008. Retail packaged software dollars were down 12 percent ( January – June 2009 ) compared to the same time period in 2008, according to NPD’s retail tracking service.
The gain for tech bench sales, however, came at the expense of off-the-shelf sales of packaged security products which only accounted for 52 percent of in-store sales in 2009 versus 62 percent in 2008. Software on new PC purchases made up 26 percent of offline acquisition in 2009, unchanged from 2008.
“The growing importance of tech benches inside retail stores is a crucial piece of the security software market that is driving change at the retailer level,” said Stephen Baker, vice president, industry analysis, at NPD. “Retailers are reshaping the security software sales process by fostering more consumer interaction from the initial purchase to the renewals. This is changing the sales process from an off-the-shelf environment to a trusted sales advisor interaction. In fact, 35 percent of all tech bench security software acquisition was driven by the associates’ relationship with the consumer.”
While tech benches have helped the retail store maintain its relevance in the security software market ( a market in which 64 percent of all acquisition comes online ), they still have work to do to become a popular option with consumers. Only 13 percent of consumers have used any tech bench service in the last year, up just 2 points from the year prior. Awareness is also a problem as 42 percent of consumers said they have never heard of tech benches, only a slight improvement from 44 percent in 2008.
“Tech benches are, like most computer services, most successful and most appreciated when a friend or associate recommends them,” said Baker. Our survey showed that 40 percent of interactions at tech benches resulted from word-of-mouth or a recommendation. As interactions grow and reputation improves, the amount of software sold at retail, especially critical software like security, is likely to continue to migrate away from the shelf and towards the tech bench.”
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