The two most common ways of selling software are either through a store or over the internet. There are advantages to both ways, not only for the consumer but also for the merchant. It is in his or her interest that consumers know about the product, which involves advertisement.

The disadvantage of advertising software directly at the store is that other products may compete for the client's attention. But there are also some advantages: one is the constant presence of a salesman/woman who can answer customers' questions about that product and give more information. Also, some customers prefer to buy software which is being distributed on portable media such as DVDs or CDs. The layout of the medium can also draw the attention of the customer.

The techniques used for distributing and advertising a product sold online is not the same as those used in stores. advertising software over the internet can be accomplished much more consumer explicit. The use of marketing software, which for instance sends out e-mails automatically to customers who have purchased a similar product before, is also less costly. This is one case for using ecommerce software to promote a product.

Although the approach is much less personalized, the use of popup windows to advertise software is often cheaper than the use of costly ecommerce software because the advertiser only pays for the views received. The quantity of individuals reached via the popup window method often compensates for the reduced personal touch.

The downside of online advertising is that those who spend a lot of time online have been overstimulated by online ads. The cause is the large - often intrusive - use of ads on a number of web sites. As a result, most people simply tend to ignore the ads online.

A fear which is commonly observed among surfers, which prevents them from clicking on online ads, is the possibility to catch a virus accidentally. This is particularly true as far as advertising software is concerned. Web surfers are more and more afraid of accidentally installing a virus that came boundled with the downloaded software.

Personally, I do prefer to search for software online but then go to the store and buy the product there. So, possibly I am influenced both by the online ads and by the advertisements directly at the store.

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