Browsers, devices, search engines and where they stand today.
I recently ran across the website, Statcounter. It is a great resource to view umbrella statistics in regards to web usage across a variety of metrics. Of course, there are lots of interesting nuggets as you adjust the filter parameters. I found the most interesting to be web usage trends over the course of the last four years or so. It debunked some of my assumptions on consumer behavior.
Below is my take on US based stats I found most intriguing.
Does anyone still use Firefox?
The Internet Explorer market share-tumble to 1.91% in December 2020 wasn’t all that surprising. But what I
found interesting here is the stats on Firefox. In the same timeframe, Firefox had a 3.47% market share. I figured they would have been a bigger player. In December 2010, they held a 25.29% share of the market and have had a pretty steady decline ever since. I have Firefox downloaded on my computer, but never use it, so maybe this shouldn’t come as such a surprise. Either way, it sent me on a tailspin to figure out what had happened to them. I found this article from gizmodo that essentially explains the turning point really stemmed from being late to the game with cloud features.
In the December 2020 timeframe, Chrome had 45.61% and Safari had 38.48%, so those are really the only two notable players now. Does the little orange fox still live in your dock? Or does the compass guide your way?
Tablet fall out
As new devices are introduced, it is interesting to notice whether consumer behavior follows these introduction trends. Desktop and Mobile seem to have found a bit of an equilibrium as of late. The latest numbers (as of December 2020) slightly favor desktop followed by mobile, with 49.48% and 47.46%, respectfully. What was contrary to my assumptions was tablet usage. In December of 2016, tablets held a 9.09% market share. Four years later in 2020, that number has decreased to a meager 3.98%.
Tablets have a fairly low entry price point and are simple to navigate. I figured the tablet market as a whole would have trended up since its introduction in 2001. The decrease in usage really threw me off. I suppose everyone else's tablets are collecting dust on their night stand, just as much as mine are. Purchased, but rarely used. However, the purchase of tablets has had a bit of decline over the years as well. Go figure! Do you have a tablet and use it regularly?
Will user privacy make an impact on the 800 pound gorilla?
In the world of search engines, it’s no surprise Google completely dominates, coming in at 87.13%
in December of 2020. Bing is showing a measly 6.44% in the same timeframe. Recently, I’ve read a ton about the benefits of DuckDuckGo. Their hyper focus on user privacy mixed with today’s data sensitivity seems like the perfect combination for a behavior shift. While year-over-year they have increased a percentage point from 1.31% in December 2019 to 2.3% in December of 2020, this tiny market share doesn’t seem to match the hoopla… yet.
Sources
Browser statistics - https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/all/united-states-of-america#monthly-201012-202012
Device statistics - https://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet/united-states-of-america#monthly-201012-202012
Search engine statistics - https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-host-market-share/all/united-states-of-america#monthly-201012-202012
Research source on browser - https://gizmodo.com/what-the-hell-happened-to-mozilla-and-firefox-1791336285