North American PC Software Sales Reach $2.03 Billion in First Quarter 1995


Sales up 25% From Last Year

July 6, 1995 (Washington, DC) -- The Software Publishers Association (SPA)
announced today that sales of personal computer application software in
North America reached $2.03 billion in the first quarter of 1995, a 24.8%
increase from the first quarter of 1994. This marks the second straight
quarter that software sales topped the $2 billion mark. Unit sales in
North America increased by 73% over Q1 94.

Windows Applications Continue To Fuel Industry Growth

Strong sales of Windows software fueled much of the industry's revenue
growth in the first quarter of 1995. Sales of these applications increased
43% for the quarter, reaching $1.43 billion. A total of $307.5 million of
Macintosh applications also were sold in the quarter, a 10% increase from
the year-ago period. DOS application sales, meanwhile, fell 25% to $268.6
million. Windows application revenues now account for 71% of total sales
in the North American market.

Word processors and spreadsheets were once again the largest categories in
the first quarter of 1995 with sales of $249.4 million and $189.0 million,
respectively. While word processor revenues grew 18% over Q1 94,
spreadsheet sales posted a 15% drop from the year-ago period. Database
products were up sharply for the quarter, rising 55% to $65.2 million.

Home Software Market Softens In Q1 95

The entertainment and financial software categories were again two of the
fastest growing segments in North America during the first quarter of
1995. Entertainment product revenues grew 84% to $174.3 million, while
sales of financial software were up 37% to $185.8 million. Our home
education software category revenues suffered a set-back after several
consecutive quarters of strong growth, falling 19% to $89.4 million. All
of this decline, however, was due to a sharp drop in sales of reference
software, which is included in this category. An overview of the product
categories covered by the sales release is included as an attachment.

"It's a healthy sign for the software industry when 11 out of 16 categories
report positive revenue growth in the first quarter," said Ken Wasch, SPA
Executive Director. "It's even more telling when you see that each of
these categories posted double-digit growth rates over Q1 94. With overall
revenues up 25% from last year, there is obviously plenty of steam left in
the desktop applications market -- both in the home and in the office."

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its 1,100 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 on-line through the new SPA Web site (http://www.spa.org) and
CompuServe (GO:SPAFORUM), as well as on the SPA faxback service at
800-637-6823 (Outside the U.S., call 908-885-6255).
 
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