Content area
Full Text
Spokane-based Egghead Inc. has launched what it believes is the first push by a major software retailer to distribute software electronically over the Internet. The move could help Egghead boost its sagging sales and position itself for the future in software retailing.
Through the new distribution system, on-line shoppers now can download software programs directly from Egghead's Internet site onto their computers. Consumers can try out the software for a certain period of time and then keep it, if they choose, by paying for it with a few clicks of a mouse and keystrokes on a keyboard.
The launch "marks an additional step in Egghead's plan to capitalize on the power of electronic software distribution via the Internet," Egghead said in a prepared statement.
"I do believe it will be an ever increasing channel of software distribution," added Ron Smith. Egghead's senior vice president of sales, in an interview earlier this week.
Egghead started offering downloadable software titles earlier this month from its Web site, at the address http://www.egghead.com. Microsoft Frontpage, a program used to create and manage Web page sites, and Starfish Internet Sidekick, a personal organizer program, are the first two programs consumers can buy from the site. More titles are expected to be added next week, and the number will be increased steadily after that, says Smith.
Egghead has been selling software via its Web site for some time, but instead of allowing customers to download their programs, the company has mailed customers their purchases, says John Hough, a spokesman for Egghead who works for the Rockey Co., a Seattle-based public relations firm.
Consumer response to the new distribution method has been...