Microsoft Unveils Pay-As-You-Go Personal Computing Press Releases
“Pay-As-You-Go” for Your PC – An Industry First
The experience of the mobile phone industry vividly illustrates the appeal of pay-as-you-go plans in developing markets. Over a billion cell phones round the world are used on a pay-as-you-go basis. Among cell phone users in emerging markets, 72 percent pay for their service this way, and that figure rises as high as 90 percent, according to research groups Strategy Analytics and Gartner. Pay-as-you-go methods are also commonly used in South Africa to pay for electricity, and prepaid Internet service is available in more than 80 countries.
With this in mind, Microsoft began testing the pay-as-you-go model for PC ownership in Brazil over a year ago. Consumers such as Garcia paid a portion of the upfront cost to bring home a computer running Windows XP Home. Consumers pay off the remaining balance by purchasing from local vendors prepaid cards that activate the machine for a defined amount of time. If time runs out on the PC, it enters a "reserve tank," or limited access state, until additional time is added. Once the computer is paid off, the metering technology is deactivated and the consumer owns the machine outright.
The response from Brazilian consumers was extremely positive, with PC sales more than doubling Magazine Luiza’s previous sales record. When customers who participated in the trial were surveyed, more than 31 percent said they had not intended to buy a PC in the next 12 months, but were able to do so because of the pay-as-you-go model.
“Microsoft FlexGo will be revolutionary for us in the way we sell and finance PCs by making this new flexible pay-as-you-go model possible," says Frederico Trajano, sales and marketing director for Magazine Luiza. "Our lower-income customers are excited to finally buy their first PC with minimal upfront investment, paying for time as they need it, and owning a computer with superior features and genuine software. “Magazine Luiza is very pleased to be working with Microsoft to bring this to the people of Brazil.”
Microsoft recently expanded market trials in Brazil, and is launching similar trials in Mexico, India, China and Russia over the next three months.
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Microsoft FlexGo technology makes good sense for customers and industry partners alike |
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