Users of Google Chrome are young and heavy users of the internet. By attracting this demographic they are best placed to topple Internet Explorer from top spot in the browser wars.

We recently showed that Internet Explorer’s UK market share is being eroded by the recent EU enforced . Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome are the main beneficiaries as they continue to increase their share of the internet browser market, but where exactly is this growth coming from? We have used the GfK browser data to understand who exactly is using the different browsers and what this all means.

GfK Technology data shows that 36% of Google Chrome users are aged 16-24. The young and their openness to alternatives has always been a stronghold for Mozilla Firefox, but with only 30% of their users aged 16-24 it seems that Google Chrome is increasingly becoming the trendy alternative to Internet Explorer. Having said that, Internet Explorer still leads the market with 56% of UK internet users, but this share is falling and will continue to do so with the introduction of the browser ballot. Most worryingly for Internet Explorer is the fact that those who spend longest on the internet fall into the youngest age groups; Google Chromes largest market. 16-24 year olds are most likely to have grown up with the internet and 70% of them spend 20 or more hours on the internet each week. In comparison, 57% of 35-44 year olds (Internet Explorer’s largest market) spend 20 or more hours on the internet each week. The once dominant browser is losing share to both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox in the areas where it would least want to; those that are young and those who use the internet the most.

Google Chrome continues to grow since its release in 2008. It may only have a 10% market share at the moment but its users are more likely to be online than any Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer user (72% of Google Chrome users spend 20 or more hours online per week). Google Chrome will only enhance Google’s ambition to get everybody online using all things Google.

For a full demographic breakdown of the internet browser usage

How we collect the data

Each month GfK NOP conduct a UK based online survey among UK adults aged 16 and over. The sample is representative of UK adults who use the internet ten hours or more per month. It is important to note that we do not ask a question about which browser the respondent uses, instead, our servers determine the respondent’s browser used to complete the survey. This data is therefore more robust than stated survey data as it is based on actual usage.

Monthly sample size; March 2010 (n=1226)

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Tags: Chrome, Demographic, Firefox, , Internet, Internet Browser, Internet Explorer, Market Share, Microsoft, Mozilla