Computer security is increasingly in the news, but fewer Americans are buying antivirus software
Image credit: M-A-U via Thinkstock
Despite the news about data breaches and Russian hackers, Slice Intelligence reports that U.S. consumers bought less antivirus software for their personal computers in the past 12 months than they did the year prior.
Of the nine computer software programs analyzed (Avast, Bitdefender, ESET, Kaspersky, McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro, Vipre, and Webroot), computer antivirus software sales were down 38.7 percent year-over-year. Over the past two years, significant spikes in revenue were observed in November, as people shopped Cyber Week, and increases in quantity sold in August, during back-to-school sales.
Antivirus computer software sales declined last year
Despite more stories about data breaches and Russian hacks
Copyright © Rakuten Intelligence 2019. March 1, 2016 - February 28, 2018. n=14,688
Kaspersky and McAfee in battle for top antivirus brand
Of the antivirus software brands we looked at, two made a considerable dent in the combined revenue numbers: Kaspersky and McAfee. Kaspersky accounted for 28.6 percent of the revenue, compared to 25.8 percent for McAfee. This is in spite of McAfee moving 91.3 percent fewer units than Kaspersky due to Best Buy including a free copy of Kaspersky’s software with any new computer purchase. Webroot and ESET have the next largest revenue share at 18.2 and 16.4 percent respectively, followed by Symantec with 7.3 percent.
McAfee's sales are head-to-head with Kaspersky
Despite moving 91 percent fewer units
Copyright © Rakuten Intelligence 2019. March 1, 2016 - February 28, 2018. n=5,734
Newegg beats Amazon in antivirus software sales
Newegg topped Amazon as the leading online antivirus software merchant, with 35.1 percent of total sales revenue, while Amazon accounted for 22.2 percent. QVC was next with 12.7 percent, followed by Staples with 8.4 percent, and Best Buy at 6.3 percent. FRYS.com, Office Depot, Walmart, Dell, and Costco fill out the rest of the top 10, accounting for a combined 11.7 percent.
It is notable that 75.7 percent of all antivirus software units procured online came through Best Buy, thanks in large part to its free Kaspersky giveaway.
Newegg out-earns Amazon and Best Buy
Accounting for more than a third of antivirus revenue
Copyright © Rakuten Intelligence 2019. March 1, 2016 - February 28, 2018. n=5,747
About this data
With a panel of over 5.5 million online shoppers, Slice Intelligence gives the most detailed, and accurate digital commerce data available, and is reported daily.
Slice Intelligence is the only service to measure digital commerce directly from the consumer, across all retailers, at the item level, and over time. Our retailer-independent methodology precisely measures commerce as it happens. By extracting detailed information from hundreds of millions of aggregated and anonymized e-receipts, Slice can map the entire Purchase Graph, connecting each and every consumer to all their purchases.
Slice gets its data from e-receipts – not a browser, app or software installed by the end-user – so its measurement reflects comprehensive shopping behavior across multiple devices, over time, which are key in an increasingly omnichannel retail world. Slice Intelligence is the exclusive e-commerce data provider for NPD’s Checkout Tracking e-commerce service.
