[SeijiSensei]

Research Firm Says Windows 8 Had a Rocky Start

Unit sales of Windows PCs in retail stores in the United States fell 21 percent in the four-week period spanning Oct. 21 to Nov. 17, compared to the same period the previous year, according to the firm.

NPD said sales of Windows 8 tablets had been “almost nonexistent,” accounting for less than 1 percent of all Windows 8 device sales. NPD collects sales data in weekly increments, so the week of Oct. 21 was the first in its system to include sales of Windows 8, which went on sale on Oct. 26.

The figures suggest that Windows 8 did nothing to arrest the downward trajectory of the PC business, much less lead to a rebound in a market that has been struggling for some time.