Chrome Eats into IE's Market Share, Firefox Becomes Top Browser in Europe
According to statistics released by StatCounter, the free website analytics company, Firefox is now the top browser in Europe. Yes, the Mozilla-developed, open-source browser that I and many others in the world use for our browsing needs, has surpassed Microsoft’s Internet Explore (IE), the browser that in the past had more than 50% of the market share (not any more).
Firefox’s market share in December 2010 was of 38.11% while Internet Explorer’s market share was slightly lower, it was of 37.52%. That officially makes Firefox the most popular, the most used browser in Europe. Hurray!
How did Firefox manage to get the number one spot? It’s not because Firefox saw a significant surge in users, it’s because IE has seen a steady decline in users for the duration of 2010. While Firefox managed to maintain a relatively stable userbase in Europe, Microsoft has been steadily losing users. Where did all these users go? The numbers suggest they went over to Google land; Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter’s CEO confirms it.
“This is the first time that IE has been dethroned from the number one spot in a major territory,” said Cullen. “This appears to be happening because Google's Chrome is stealing share from Internet Explorer while Firefox is mainly maintaining its existing share. We are probably seeing the impact of the agreement between European Commission competition authorities and Microsoft, to offer EU users a choice and menu of browsers from March last.”
On the European market, Google’s Chrome browser has seen a significant market share increase. Back in December 2009 Chrome’s market share was of 5.06%; in December 2010, one year later, its market share has gone up to 14.58%.
Internet Explorer continues to be the top dog in the US. IE’s market share in North America is of 48.92%, well above Firefox (26.7%) and Chrome (12.82%).
Firefox’s market share in December 2010 was of 38.11% while Internet Explorer’s market share was slightly lower, it was of 37.52%. That officially makes Firefox the most popular, the most used browser in Europe. Hurray!
How did Firefox manage to get the number one spot? It’s not because Firefox saw a significant surge in users, it’s because IE has seen a steady decline in users for the duration of 2010. While Firefox managed to maintain a relatively stable userbase in Europe, Microsoft has been steadily losing users. Where did all these users go? The numbers suggest they went over to Google land; Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter’s CEO confirms it.
“This is the first time that IE has been dethroned from the number one spot in a major territory,” said Cullen. “This appears to be happening because Google's Chrome is stealing share from Internet Explorer while Firefox is mainly maintaining its existing share. We are probably seeing the impact of the agreement between European Commission competition authorities and Microsoft, to offer EU users a choice and menu of browsers from March last.”
On the European market, Google’s Chrome browser has seen a significant market share increase. Back in December 2009 Chrome’s market share was of 5.06%; in December 2010, one year later, its market share has gone up to 14.58%.
Internet Explorer continues to be the top dog in the US. IE’s market share in North America is of 48.92%, well above Firefox (26.7%) and Chrome (12.82%).
