It has now been two months since the release of Windows 8, and, much to the chagrin of Microsoft, adoption of the new OS remains weak. Retailers and Microsoft’s hardware partners are continuing to report slow sales of Windows 8 PCs. In the all-important business sector, one report shows workplace adoption of Windows 8 to be almost nonexistent, compared to Windows 7’s rapid uptake. There is even growing evidence that Windows Vista enjoyed faster growth than Windows 8.

According to Net Applications, Windows 8’s market share, as of this morning, is 1.72%. This is up from 1.09% as of the end of November, and 0.41% at the end of October. Two months after Vista’s release, it had 2.2% of the market; two months after Windows 7’s release, its market share was no less than 6.2%. Below you can see a beautiful graph from Computerworld that neatly illustrates Windows 8’s tardy adoption. It’s worth noting, too, that Windows 8 will have enjoyed a sales boost from both Black Friday and Christmas, while Vista was released in January.

In the enterprise segment, analysts at Context say that in the month following its release, just 8% of Windows 8 licenses were sold to businesses. In the same period in 2009, businesses accounted for a massive 31% of Windows 7 sales. In terms of overall hardware sales, Context says that Windows 8 accounted for 52% of all Windows-based PCs sold in the month following its release (i.e. 48% of Windows PC buyers opted for an older operating system, such as Windows 7).

Following on from Newegg’s grumblings that Windows 8 hasn’t been selling well, Fujitsu’s president says that it will miss its sales targets due to “weak” demand for Windows 8. Statements from other vendors, such as Sony, Toshiba, and Dell, aren’t quite as negative — but they’re certainly not positive, either.

we don’t have a whole lot of love for the Metro Start Screen here in the ExtremeTech bunker — in fact, we use screenshots of the Metro interface for crossbow target practice — but is it really the underlying cause of Windows 8’s weak traction? It’s important to remember that the PC market in general is experiencing a downturn — and while vendors and retailers had hoped that Windows 8 would buoy the market up, that hasn’t been the case.

It’s entirely possible that Windows 8’s slow adoption is simply the result of increased smartphone and tablet sales — but wasn’t Windows 8 meant to ameliorate that division by being a tablet operating system as well? Curiously, more than two months after Windows 8’s release, we still have absolutely no data on the success (or not) of Surface, or indeed any Windows 8 tablet. Weak Windows 8 PC sales are one thing, but Microsoft simply can’t afford to cede any more of the tablet market to Apple or Google. Following what seems to be a record Christmas for both Android and iOS tablet sales, it does not look good for Windows 8.

Now read: The Windows 8 Store is broken: Here’s how to fix it, or check out our extensive collection of Windows 8 tips & tricks