The latest data released by market research company Net Applications shows that in July, the growth rate of Windows 8's market share slowed compared to the previous month. This again indicates that the adoption of Windows 8 is encountering resistance.
The data shows that in July, the month-on-month growth rate of Windows 8's market share was the lowest since the system's release in October 2012. By the end of July, among all Windows versions, Windows 8's market share was 5.9%, an increase of only 0.3% from June.
From November 2012 to July 2013, Windows 8's market share grew on average by 0.6% per month. Before July, the lowest growth rates were in February and April at 0.5%, while the highest was in June at 0.9%.
The slowdown in the growth of Windows 8's market share may be closely related to the overall problems faced by the PC industry, with global PC shipments declining for five consecutive quarters. The situation in the consumer market is particularly severe, as many consumers are choosing to buy tablets and delaying PC upgrades, or completely abandoning PC upgrades.
Market research company IDC estimates that global PC shipments fell by 11% year-on-year in the second quarter. The decline in the consumer market was more pronounced, and sales in the enterprise market now account for the majority of PC sales.
The impact of the decline in the consumer PC market is more evident on Windows 8 because many enterprises have not yet transitioned to this latest Windows platform. Windows 8's design differs significantly from previous versions, and so far its users are mainly individuals and small businesses.
Microsoft is about to release a free Windows 8.1 upgrade and hopes to reverse the current unfavorable situation of Windows 8 through this upgrade. The "RTM version" of Windows 8.1 will be released later this month, and the official version will be released within the year.
In the meantime, Windows XP's market share in July remained high at 40.6%, similar to June. Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP in April 2014.
Net Applications' data comes from independent user visits to approximately 40,000 customer websites.