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Please find me the percentage of people who use each of these browsers: Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Then tell me which percentage of each browser’s users have installed a browser plug-in.
Hello! Thank you for your question about browsers, plugins, and the percentage of people who use them. The quick answer is that, as of January 2017, 73.7% of people use Chrome, 15.4% use Firefox, and 3.6% use Safari. After searching extensively through industry reports, research sites, and other resources, I was unable to find information on how many users of each browser type use plugins. However, I was able to determine the most popular type of plugins, that 25% of mobile browser users have an ad-block plugin, and the best ways to market plugins. Below you find an explanation of my research.
METHODOLOGY
I began searching through web research sites to understand the popularity of these three browsers. Then, I found information on the breakdown between desktop and mobile use of browsers and plugins. I compiled a list of the top plugins through the Chrome and Apple stores based on ratings, and, where available, the number of users. Research into how many people on each browser use plugins found only data from 2011, and a paid report that might give information on Chrome's user base and ubiquity of plugins. I found a case study that gives relevant information on how to successfully market plugins, and information as to the future of these browsers based on industry research into browser trends.
BROWSER PREFERENCE
Data collected since 2002 shows the rise of Google Chrome as compared to Firefox and Safari, with recent data showing that 73.7% of people use Chrome, 15.4% use Firefox, and 3.6% use Safari today. This is compared to 68.0%, 19.1%, and 3.7% respectively at the end of 2015. In 2016, Chrome hit the milestone of 1 billion users per month on its mobile browser. This shows the growing use of mobile/tablet browser usage.
Desktop users prefer Chrome to Firefox and Safari, 57.9% to 11.7% and 3.7% respectively. For mobile and tablet users, Chrome remains the top choice at 53.2%, while Safari jumps to 32.4%, and Firefox falls to 0.58%. This shows a large discrepancy between how users surf the web on a desktop versus a mobile device. These statistics also demonstrate how Firefox has been in decline, and is expected to continue to experience a user base decrease. This is due in part to the company's inability to attract a mobile market. For iPhone users, Chrome has outpaced Safari for years, but a study in 2015 showed that Safari was rapidly gaining ground- growing by 34% compared to Chrome's 19%. These trends give insight into the future of the browsers and their associated plugins.
POPULARITY OF PLUGINS
It is difficult to assess how many people in total have installed browser plugins, and how that number varies based on the chosen browser. The best data found was from 2011, and it shows that 85% of Firefox users and 33% of Chrome users had installed a plugin, but with the expansion of plugins and other internet ad-ons, it would be imprecise to extrapolate this data to present day. A paid report found here might give more information on the number of Chrome users who install these functions.
For browsers overall, the most popular type of plugins are ad-blockers. In June 2015, almost 200 million people used an ad-block plugin. These plugins are especially popular with young internet users (16-24), a third of whom use them. Studies show that more people on Chrome (126 million) tend to use these ad-blockers than those on Firefox (48 million). On the mobile browser front, a 2016 study found that almost 25% of users have installed an ad-block plugin. It is estimated that by the end of 2017, 80% of mobile users will have downloaded similar software.
The top trends in plugins are security, communication, and convenience. The highest rated plugins are ones that allow users to protect their device and information, enable ease of communication via translation services or easier to access email, and offer ways to simplify their browsing experience through price comparisons, tab organization, or password management.
TOP PLUGINS
From the Apple and Google stores, as well as tech websites, I compiled a list of the top plugin types based on popularity and user numbers (as available).
The top categories are, with an example:
MARKETING TIPS
A case study of the plugin Email Hunter for Chrome shows how this company garnered thousands of installs within weeks. Their top advice is to use the website Product Hunter to promote the plugin's launch. They credit it for their first 3,000 installs in week one. They also promoted their plugin through social media, and contacted technology blogs to spread the information. From the company's marketing platform, they used an multifaceted approach "on multiple points of contact" such as their web page, email service, and the Chrome Store to promote the plugin. The main takeaway from them and other creators is that it is an iterative process of clients seeing information about the plugin on various platforms again and again that cements the desire to install it. Also continual updates from feedback- and spreading the information about the improvements-, as well as being transparent with the user about required information and permissions, are necessary for a successful plugin campaign.
CONCLUSIONS
On both desktop and mobile platforms, Chrome is the most popular browser. Firefox is experiencing a shrinking user base while Safari is expanding on the mobile market. While information could not be found on the number of plugin users segmented by browser choice, there was some information found on how many use ad-blocking plugins, and previous data from 2011 that suggested more Firefox users than Chrome users had plugins. The top plugins are ad-blockers and games. Tips for marketing plugins are advertising on multiple platforms, continual improvements, and transparency.
As I could not find the information about plugin numbers for each browser, I might suggest that further research focus on a specific type of plugin (e.g. ad-blocker or whichever is most relevant) to find statistics that way. There were several sources used here that gave the numbers for ad-blockers on Chrome versus Firefox that could be utilized.
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