Microsoft's Smaller Windows 8 Tablets

Microsoft Corporation MSFT Microsoft's Windows 8 marketplace impact was anything but revolutionary. Windows 8's agitated many PC users. The high cost of many Microsoft systems made them a tough sell in economic conditions. The numbers could change as the economy is still in recovery from the crisis.

The disappointing PC sales indicated weak demand for its Windows 8 operating system that just hit the market over the fall. The stock traded down 4.4% to close at $28.93. IDC reported that PC sales slid nearly 14% in the first quarter.  The company launched its first touch-based operating system, Windows 8 late last year. But Windows 8 could not provide a positive boost to the PC market. Microsoft is way behind its competitors. The company will have to explore ways to recover from the current situation.

The fact that Adobe is more ubiquitous today than Microsoft makes investors believe that Adobe will end up being the appropriate digital marketing platform.  For customers who prefer Microsoft, price may be acceptable to running Windows applications however they may be challenged to deliver applications of the future. Adobe is aiming at the next generation of productivity applications, developing the trends that will matter most five or ten years from now.

The Windows Store app for Staples.com provides customers with access to Staples Rewards and features tools that make it easier for small businesses to research and shop for everything they need for their business or home office. The Staples Windows Store app also works in conjunction with Staples other e-commerce properties, allowing customers to view or add items to their cart on the Windows Store app, the Staples smartphone app, the mobile website, the tablet site or Staples.com, making it easy for them to shop whenever and however it’s convenient for them. The Staples Windows Store app supports both touch and more traditional input methods, making the app available to users on all the different form factors that run Windows 8. The app is available for free download in the Windows Store and will serve tablets, laptops and desktop PCs.

Consumer Demand

The new omnichannel consumers are able to research offers online, discuss information over video, have tablet access to sales associates from the stores, and have abilities to shop in real time or make payments using their mobile retail apps. Susan McPartlin, PwC’s US Retail & Consumer Sector leader states “As we enter an increasingly complex retail landscape with accelerating competitive pressures and digital shopping options, retailers will need to prepare for a wall-less omnichannel retail world, one where shoppers will come to expect a seamless brand experience online, in-store and across multimedia touch points. This multi-format portfolio combined with the proliferation of small, urban, alternative retail formats will pave the way for future growth, dismantling the mass homogenization and scale assumptions that propelled two decades of retail growth.” Mobile retailer apps popularity offered by the largest retailers increased 525 percent in December 2012 when compared with the previous year. More than 18 percent of consumers used a mobile device to visit a retail store and 13 percent used a smartphone or tablet to make a purchase. Over 95 percent of U.S. retailers have optimized their websites for smartphone traffic.

The company has revenues is of $21.46 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. Microsoft has been a large competitor to Oracle. Microsoft’s growth strategy is to leverage big data technologies from the desktop to the cloud. The company also has expectations for democratization using big data.

In the last few years, Microsoft has revamped its analytics, embraced big data and Hadoop. Microsoft's current investments are supported by its strong balance sheet improving market share gains. Microsoft does have emerging markets strength, continued technology deployment at data centers and growth in cloud computing.