The SPA Announces SofTrends: A New Retail Software Tracking Service

March 13, 1995 (San Diego, CA)--During its Spring Symposium in San Diego,
the Software Publishers Association announced an important upgrade to its
Data Program services. The new service, called SofTrends, will be launched
this spring in cooperation with the NPD Group, a leading international
market research company.

The SofTrends program will provide software industry professionals with
access to timely, comprehensive, and detailed information about software
title sales in retail channels. "With the growth of the personal computer
industry, retail channels are becoming an integral part of effective
distribution and marketing of software products," said Ken Wasch, the
SPA's Executive Director. "Consumer, education, small business, and even
corporate buyers are increasingly turning to retail channels for their
software. This service will provide subscribers with detailed information
on monthly title-by-title sales activity through retail channels."

"Deciding to work with The NPD Group was an easy choice," said SPA Research
Director David Tremblay. "With sophisticated retail tracking services
running in seven other industries, NPD has the operational strength and
depth to deliver a great product to the software industry. Through our
partnership, SofTrends services will be available at a substantial
discount to SPA members. We are VERY excited about this new service!"

"We expect to have 16 retail chains, representing 7,500 doors in the US,
participating in the program by the service's launch date," said Bill
Lucas, The NPD Group's President of Syndicated Services. "In cooperation
with the SPA, we have identified additional retailers and are working to
quickly bring them into the SofTrends program. Our objectives for
SofTrends are to offer more complete coverage of software retailers than
any sales tracking service available and to provide numerous value-added
services not offered anywhere else."

SofTrends information will be available in printed reports and industry
standard database formats. In addition, service subscribers will have
access to a powerful data analysis tool, NPD's PowerView analysis
software. PowerView is a simple-to-use, Windows-based flexible tool which
will enable even "non-techies" to conduct detailed analyses of SofTrends
data.

As another value-added service available to SofTrends subscribers, NPD will
be conducting surveys twice a year among 10,000 personal computer owning
households who are part of their 300,000 household US research panel.
These surveys enhance the SofTrends program by providing information not
available through any retail-based program, including publisher's direct
sales and purchases through on-line services. These bi-annual
supplementary surveys will contain demographics, PC ownership, and
geographical data on software purchase activity. The reports will detail
buyer and user profiles, and provide insight on purchasing dynamics for
consumers - for example buying rates, loyalty, and satisfaction.

Founded in 1953, the NPD Group is the seventh largest marketing research
firm in the United States. The firm is headquartered in Port Washington,
NY, and has offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, Greensboro, Houston, Los
Angeles, London, Paris, and Nurnberg. In addition, NPD has affiliations in
Canada, Europe, Latin America, Australia, and Asia. NPD is the primary
provider of expert market knowledge through point-of-sale tracking and
consumer panel data for a variety of industries. NPD has been at the
forefront of understanding and analyzing consumer behavior for over forty
years.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its 1,150 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France. SPA press releases are
available through CompuServe. (GO:SPAForum).

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

 ============================================================
 From the  'New Product News'  Electronic News Service on....
 AOL (Keyword = New Products) & Delphi (GO COMPUTING PRODUCT)
 ============================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the 
 company or author mentioned. For additional details, please 
 contact them directly at the address/phone number indicated.
 All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
 ============================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  U.S.A.
 Email: RBakerPC (AOL/Delphi), rbakerpc@delphi.com (Internet)
 ============================================================
