14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently hinted that it might put Windows RT out of its misery very soon, but this hasn’t stopped more North Americans from buying a Surface RT tablet.
This means that lots of users living in North American have purchased not the recently-launched Surface 2, but the first-generation Surface RT, which could be a clear indication that the hefty price was one of the main reasons for the poor early uptake.
Chitika Insights revealed that between October 23 and November 23, Surface 2 generated 6.5 percent of the traffic made by Microsoft tablets running Windows RT, including both the first and the second generation models.
At this point, Surface RT and Surface 2 usage share accounts for 6.4 percent of all North American non-iPad web traffic, with Microsoft gaining 0.7 percentage points in its tablet share since September 30.
“Microsoft’s growth within the tablet space has taken some time, but it’s reasonable to surmise that the company’s long-term strategy for the device category is now paying some dividends. While not exponential, its Surface devices have exhibited steady usage growth in recent months, with share increases largely following the mid-July price cuts of the Surface RT,” Chitika said.
Microsoft has indeed rolled out several price discounts for the Surface RT and it seems like this aggressive price cut campaign is paying off right now.
What’s more, the company is willing to continue making the Surface RT available at very low prices, in an attempt not only to boost sales of its Windows RT product family range, but also to clear out inventories of the first-generation model.
A special Black Friday deal for the Surface RT has already been announced, with Microsoft promising to sell the device for no less than $199 across its US retail network and online.