COMPUTER HOUSEHOLDS BETTER EDUCATED, RICHER 
New software survey reveals solid home market development

March 3, 1993 (Washington, DC)--Is there a computer in your home? If so,
you're probably better educated and make more money than the average
American. Plus, you have a keen eye for bargains when shopping for
software.

Those are some of the findings of a survey conducted of by the Software
Publishers Association (SPA), the principal trade association of the
personal computer software industry. The survey, which involved 672
randomly selected households nationwide, found that personal computer
owners were twice as likely to be college graduates than non-owners. More
than half (51 percent) of personal computer owners have at least a 4-year
degree, compared with one in four American adults.

Computerized households also enjoy higher incomes. While only 10 percent of
US households have annual income of $75,000, more than a quarter (27
percent) of the computer-owning households had incomes at or above that
level. More than half (56 percent) of computer owners have household
incomes in excess of $50,000, compared with a quarter of all US
households.

The survey was conducted in January, 1993, and paralleled the SPA's 1992
benchmark study. The interviews identified the personal computer and video
game system hardware and software in the household. Five personal computer
software categories were studied: entertainment, education, personal
productivity, business software used for work brought home, and business
software used for a home-based business. Also analyzed were the number of
personal computer and video game applications in the household,
acquisition sources for personal computer software, and the importance of
a series of factors in their software purchase decisions.

Who Influences Software Buyers? 

The recommendation of a friend or colleague was again one of the most
important influences in selecting software in all five categories. Price
is also an important consideration in 1993, with many respondents saying
"the product is on sale" is one of the most important factors in their
purchase decision.

"We are witnessing the evolution of personal computer software into a
mainstream consumer product category," says David Tremblay, SPA Research
Director. "Americans are using their personal computers for everything
from teaching their children and entertaining themselves to managing their
finances, extending their workday, and helping them run a business from
their home. As they become more familiar with different kinds of software,
American consumers are increasingly comfortable shopping for bargains."

Other highlights of the study's findings:

* Those who use their personal computer to help run home-based business use
their PC a median of 20 hours per week. People who bring work home from
the office use their PC a median 5 hours per week. Entertainment,
education and personal productivity users all report a median of 4 hours
per week use of their home PC.

* Once again in 1993, word processing software, found in four out of five
homes, is the most widely used type of software for both business and
non-business purposes in homes. Entertainment, spreadsheet, database and
graphics applications are all used by over half of PC-owning homes.

* Nearly three-quarters of the personal computers installed in homes are
IBM or compatibles. Apple Macintosh and Apple II PCs are the only other
types that account for more than 5% of the PCs installed in homes.

* Personal computers in homes are surprisingly powerful - more than half of
the IBM and compatibles use a 386 or 486 chip. And, half of the IBM and
compatibles users say they use Microsoft Windows.

* Significantly more personal productivity, home-based business and users
who bring work home said that their software came bundled with their PC
than did in 1992. Between one in four and one in five users reported this
in 1993, compared with only about one in ten in 1992.

* Copying software from friends, work or school remains a very common
method for obtaining software. Forty percent of entertainment software
users reported that they had obtained software in the last year by copying
from friends, work or school. For the other four categories, the figure
was between 17% and 26%.

The Software Publishers Association's 1000 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France.

Software publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756

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