In 2023, Russian users showed increased interest in licensed copies of Microsoft Windows and Office 365, which can be purchased on online platforms. The increase in demand was largely due to the popularity of boxed versions of software, for which activation keys are provided on disks or flash cards. In this respect reports Vedomosti publication refers to retailers.
WildBerries said half of its software sales in 2023 will come from different versions of Windows. In Yandex Market, Microsoft is the leader among software publishers, and the best-selling product in this category is Office 365 activation keys.
Retailers also noted a significant increase in demand for boxed versions of programs. Thus, WildBerries reports that in 2023, about 170 thousand such copies were sold on its website, which is 10 times more than in the previous year. The number of digital activation keys sold increased 16 times, reaching 5.5 thousand.
An increase in demand for keys and boxed versions was also noted on M.video-Eldorado and Avito. Software sales in digital format increased by 25% at M.video-Eldorado and 53% at Avito.
Experts attribute the increase in the market for licensed copies to a decrease in the supply of laptops to Russia with pre-installed Microsoft software. Moreover, with the suspension of services for Russian Visa and MasterCard bank cards, Russians have problems with the direct renewal of licenses, so they are forced to purchase activation keys from intermediaries in the form of retailers.
IT professionals who have previously left the country It turned out to be He fell out of favor with Russian companies.