Google has grown their share of the UK internet browser market by 6% year on year; equating to 2.3 million extra consumers who have switched from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Data from the GfK NOP Internet Browser Tracker in the UK shows that market share for all major web browsers has remained static since November 2009, with the exception of Google Chrome and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. The graphic below shows that Internet Explorer’s lost market share has been Google’s gain:

Back in February 2010 Microsoft were forced to offer a choice of browsers to any consumers using one of their operating systems (i.e. Windows); the so-called ‘browser ballot”. GfK’s data suggests that since then many people in the UK have actually stuck with what they know, resulting in little movement overall. What’s particularly interesting is that Firefox has not been able to grow its market share, with Google capturing those interested in trying something different.

For most mainstream web users, the main priority is to have easy access to the internet. Internet Explorer has been the default solution for years, leading many consumers to stick with them, whilst the clear associations Google has with the internet gives them an advantage among the less tech savvy internet users willing to try something new. Clearly, familiarity, simplicity in communication and trust are still the main drivers of usage for the internet browser market.

for the data all the way back to January 2009

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The calculation used is expressed as a proportion of the current UK, adult population accessing the internet. (38.3 million adult internet users taken from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=8 )

GfK NOP Internet Browser Tracker – 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. Sample size; November 2009 (n=946), November 2010 (n=1221)

There are a number of articles available on this e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/mar/01/microsoft-windows-browser-choice-screen

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Tags: Chrome, Consumer, Firefox, , Internet, Internet Browser, Internet Explorer, Market Share, Opera, Safari, Windows