Selling Packaged Software To Consumers

Four out of five US households have a PC, but most consumers spend $50 or less each year on software. Free software bundled with new PCs, as well as free and open source software and Web-based applications, have made it much more difficult to sell consumers packaged software. Despite the plethora of free applications available, most consumers still want to purchase commercial software, but they find the prices to be prohibitive. Data analytics can help product strategists and marketers identify the segments most likely to purchase software. A consumer software subscription (CSS) sales model will help lower the barriers to entry for consumers — and will also provide vendors with a more predictable revenue stream.