Brower Market Share

These days, browser market share is more important than ever. Statistics tracking web browser usage are often cited when determining the popularity of the different computer platforms. While this statistic is not wholly predictive of computer platform usage, it is a useful indicator.

Historically, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has dominated browser market share. In 2004, Internet Explorer averaged over 91% of market share. However, in the last several years, browser market share for Internet Explorer has steadily dropped. As of April ’07, Internet Explorer’s market share was just over 78%. The decline has been due primarily to the strong showing of Firefox, the owner of the next highest market share.

Browser market share for Firefox has steadily increased as Internet Explorer’s share has declined. As of April ’07, Firefox enjoyed 15.4 % of browser market share, a 420% increase from its average market share in 2004. While this is an indication that more users are turning to the Mac computer platform, that is not the sole reason for the shift, as Firefox offers versions for both Mac and Windows operating systems. The unique design of Firefox browser windows, which allow users to view multiple pages using “tabs” in a single window, has proven popular with Internet users.

Safari, a Mac only browser is third in browser market share with 4.59% as of April ’07. Like Firefox, Safari has grown its market share considerably over the last 3 years. In 2004, Safari held an average of only 1.5% of the market. Netscape, Opera and Mozilla are all respectively the next highest market shares, though each holds less than 1% of browser market share as of April ’07. Netscape and Mozilla have both experienced consistent decline in market share in the last 3 years while Opera has slowly gained.

Statistics show that while Mac based browsers and browsers with both Mac and Windows versions climb in market share, Windows only browsers are steadily declining. Even the introduction of Windows Vista operating system could not reverse this trend. This trend is likely to continue as more and more businesses and individuals turn to Mac OS X as an alternative to Microsoft Windows in the coming years.