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The Journey from Access Panels to Communities

The past decade has been marked by two revolutions in market research and both are associated with the internet. The first is the move to online research, especially to access panels. Access panels are collections of people who have volunteered to take our surveys. Access panels have allowed us to provide speedy, cost effective research, using the compelling, visual medium of the internet.

The second is the growth of social media. Consumers are no longer passive. They are empowered; they socialise online; they get instant information about brands, often over their mobile. In this new social world the key question is who owns the brand? Brand owners are now part of a real time conversation where customers’ experiences and a brand’s performance are transparent for all to see. These new social media tools are moving us from access panels to increasingly socialised panels and to research based around communities, and they are one of the easiest ways for brands to converse with consumers.

Socialised panels are usually large scale. They are often built for our clients. You might think of them as proprietary access panels, but with a veneer of community that is added by using one or more online community tools such as forums, blogs, video and photo uploads, tag clouds, RSS feeds, wikis, profiles etc. But once we start to use these social media tools together we may create market research online communities (MROCs). What defines an MROC is a sense of a shared respondent presence and purpose. The big difference reflects the new world of social networks. In the traditional access panel model, only the panel owner knows that an individual is a member of the panel. In an MROC the identity of the respondents may be known to the other respondents due to the use of user names and through the building of reputations. This creates a shared presence in which relationships can be established between any of the participants, be they respondents, researchers, or clients, as they interact with each other.

One of the great benefits of creating an MROC is that we can allow the data to emerge. We are setting the research agenda but the respondents, clients and researchers are co-creating the flow of data, reacting to the unexpected from wherever it comes, and this can lead to unexpected and interesting insights emerging. For example we built a short term MROC for the UK Office of Fair Trading to explore the future. In the published report the OFT wrote “It is fair to say that the exercise has exceeded all our expectations … the consultation has been enormously valuable to us.” This was in no small part due to the creative interactions of our community members and the rich diversity of comments and suggestions that the community generated.

This is the power of research communities; they allow collaboration, co-creation, and most importantly conversation. At their heart is the reality of the brand holding open and creative conversations with its customers.

WANT TO READ MORE?

GfK Research Summit 2010: The Digital Connected Consumer

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victoriapeckham

Privacy in a Connected Society

The recent actions of the world’s biggest social network reveal its beliefs and ideals for digital society; openness and one identity. However, theories suggest that self identity is process of story-telling under constant revision. With our research showing that social networkers are actively sharing different amounts of personal information across different networks, the future of digital society lies in giving users more control over their personal and private identities online.

In April 2010, the actions of the world’s most used social networking site struck several chords of concern in our digital society. In changing default privacy settings for users, Facebook placed privacy as central to the internet paradigm. Discussion, debate and protest from social networkers, internet users, reporters, commentators and the 1,400 people based at the corporation’s HQ in California were focussed on notions of privacy.

The fiasco placed Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership of Facebook under scrutiny and led us all to question what it is exactly he believes in. In an interview published in Wired UK Magazine (August 2010), the founder speaks openly about his hopes for “one identity” developed through greater openness online. But events in April revealed that very few of us are willing to expose every part of us to the rest of the online world.

The privacy debate to date has focussed on the actions of two internet giants; Facebook and Google. One tracks, indexes and sells information about us online, the other encourages, nudges and opens the door to self-exposure to the digital world. However, the debate has yet to focus on the beliefs and ideologies that underpin the actions around privacy of Facebook and Google. One thing we do know is that Zuckerberg’s actions around privacy on Facebook reveal his beliefs around “one identity” where each of us behaves and projects the same personality wherever we are on the internet. Therefore, our Facebook profile will look exactly the same as out LinkedIn profile and we will expose the same person wherever we go in digital society.

I imagine that Zuckerberg dropped out of his psychology and computer science degree at Harvard just before class dipped into the work of Anthony Giddens; most students do as a right of passage. Giddens’ work offers some insight around the complexities of self-identity which has significant implications on actions around privacy in digital society.

Giddens claims that self-identity is a narrative each of us makes rather than inherits. It is not something static but is a ‘reflexive project’ i.e. something each of us continuously works and reflects on. “A person’s identity is not to be found in behaviour, nor – important though this is – in the reactions of others, but in the capacity to keep a particular narrative going” (Giddens 1991: 54).

Simply put, the theory means that our identities are built as we learn more about ourselves and ways in which to tell our story in a biographical form. Self-identity therefore demands full control over what to tell and where – something Zuckerberg and his team seem unwilling to grant. Self-identity in digital society is given agency through our different profiles. We can maintain and revisit our ‘social’ self on Facebook, our ‘professional’ self on LinkedIn and our ‘creative’ self on Flickr, and do so at our control. Zuckerberg’s ‘one identity’ however, means we share equal amounts of information continuously and wherever we go without the opportunity to hide or reveal what we learn about ourselves over time.

Recent data from a GfK NOP study on attitudes to privacy finds that social networkers are active in exposing different parts of themselves to different people and want full control in doing so. A large majority of people (78%) believe privacy settings on social network sites should default to sharing nothing. On Facebook, most users (44%) prefer to share selected information with friends only. Only 7% are doing what Facebook hopes with regard to openness; sharing everything with anyone. On LinkedIn, people are a little more comfortable sharing everything with anyone (13%) perhaps explained by the theme of self-promotion on the site. Still, the preference on Linked In is for control where 35% share selected information with friends only.

The reality of the actions in April means that Facebook now has a more concerned and control-hungry user base. 67% of social networkers say privacy has become more important to them, and, interestingly, 68% say they would place more trust in those social networks who pro-actively help them manage their privacy settings. For Zuckerberg, that means maybe it is time to dip into some Giddens and understand that in digital society, individuals need to build their identities through a carefully managed process of editing and revising. Users want the control to build and shape what they learn and encounter with the passage of time.

RESEARCH NOTES

GfK NOP Technology conducted a survey among 996 UK adults in June 2010. The interviews were conducted online and are representative on UK adults who have access to the internet.

WANT TO READ MORE?

Giddens, A. (1991) Modernity and Self-Identify: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age, Polity Press, Cambridge: http://amzn.to/aM1h4M

Facebook’s privacy policy http://bit.ly/96GSdl

Mike Arrington (Tech Crunch) interrogates Mark Zuckerberg http://bit.ly/7cOFO2

Google continues the onslaught with Chrome

Google Chrome continues to muscle its way into the browser market as GfK data for January-June 2010 shows that it has a 7% share of the browser market. In June 2010 alone it accounted for a 9% share which is remarkable considering that it has only been in existence for 2 years.

To highlight the impact that Google Chrome is making we have compared Jan-Jun 2009 data against the same rolling months of 2010.

Compared to this time last year Internet Explorer has lost 12% market share while the Chrome and Firefox browsers have gained some ground. The bad publicity around Internet Explorer and its security flaws combined with the EU enforced browser ballot cannot have done Internet Explorer any favours. Google Chrome is taking full advantage and eating its way into Internet Explorer at a rapid rate and there is no doubt that they want to do the same to Firefox

Similar to our findings in the last browser update it is the younger age groups that continue to push Google Chrome. GfK data for June 2010 shows that 37% of Chrome users are aged 16-24. When considering that 70% of people in this age group spend 20 or more hours on the internet per week – there are a lot of hours being spent on the internet via Google Chrome.

Feel free to take a look at the latest GfK browser statistics here.

The GfK figures align closely with the figures reported by StatsCounter and Net Applications. Although GfK data is only based on UK browser market share it has an added advantage of also containing important demographic information which is unavailable elsewhere (age, gender, UK region, marital status, time spent on the internet). From our data we know that only 25% of people in full time education are using Internet Explorer. If you are interesting in getting some more of this data then please feel free to contact GfK NOP Technology.

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; June 2010 (n=1224)

Jan-Jun 2009 (n=5763)

Jan-Jun 2010 (n=7360)

Companies allowing time off to watch England will increase employee motivation during the World Cup period

The FIFA World Cup is finally upon us and while football fans, vuvuzelas aside, have been enjoying the first week of games, employers have a difficult decision to make when it comes to England’s game against Slovenia on Wednesday 23June at 3pm UK time. Passionate debates about football are all too common, but there is one debate that takes place every four years – namely whether employers should give their staff time off to watch their national team play in the World Cup.

GfK data shows that 5% of employees are going to be allowed time off or be granted flexible working hours to fit around England’s match against Slovenia (this includes GfK NOP). Although this seems fairly small it still shows that employers are willing to let their staff take time off because of a football fixture. Most companies will doubtless have already made their decision regarding their position on this matter, but for the few remaining who are yet to make an official announcement, we would urge that they give the go ahead to watch the match.

Employers allowing their staff to watch the game or arrange flexible working around it will not only have made the correct decision for their football loving employees, but more importantly they have made the correct decision for their business. GfK data shows that 78% of staff allowed to watch the game away from their desk will feel more positive towards their employer, with 68% of the same group also saying that they feel more motivated to work during a World Cup.

Employers may lose their headcount for what will effectively amount to a full afternoon, but the benefits from doing so will help to keep their workforce engaged during June and July this year: employers allowing their staff to watch the game will be rewarded with a motivated and productive workforce whilst positively enhancing their image as an employer.

Conversely, our survey data shows that not allowing time off may have a negative impact on a business – 20% of employees not being given time off to watch the game say they now feel more negatively towards their employer, and 17% of respondents state they will feel less motivated as a result of the decision. Furthermore, the majority of those not allowed are likely to be watching the game anyway – the growth in streaming live content through the internet means that watching the match at work is really only a few clicks away. For the 7% of employees who are not allowed time off work this could be an option that has previously been impossible.

A lot has been made about employees streaming the action from South Africa through their PC or mobile device and crippling the networks within their office walls. So much in fact that FIFA has installed 75 supercomputers in the town of Slough to cope with increased data usage*. The precautions taken by FIFA may not be fully justified as GfK data shows that 23% of those not granted time off work will be listening to live radio commentary while streaming via PC and mobile will only account for 9% and 3% respectively.

With companies already having taken a stance on the issue of the World Cup it is clear to see that those employers officially allowing their staff to watch the game will reap the benefits for the business in the long term and boost company loyalty. It’s really a no-brainer – although whether people actually want to watch the match following England’s terrible performance against Algeria is less of a certainty…

* Sources for used figures & quotations:

http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/fifa-houses-75-supercomputers-in-uk-for-world-cup-693600

RESEARCH NOTES:

GfK NOP Technology conducted a survey among 996 UK adults in June 2010. The interviews were conducted online and are representative on UK adults who have access to the internet.

Image From:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shine2010/4615577330/

Recovery in full swing for consumer technology markets… and it’s expected to last

Growth returns to Western European consumer technology markets in Q1 2010. GfK TEMAX data shows that consumers are more willing to upgrade their home technology as well as experiment with new smartphone mobile technology.

GfK TEMAX data shows that, overall, the consumer technology market recorded 2.7% growth in Q1 this year compared to Q1 in 2009. Key technology sectors have recorded year on year growth, including Telecommunications (+4.9%), Information Technology (+3.6%) and Consumer Electronics (+0.7%) in Q1 2010. Smartphones, Windows 7 and LCD TVs are all driving factors of growth in their respective sectors.

Smartphones continue to drive growth in the Telecommunications market

While the telecommunications market declined by -3.2% in the fourth quarter 2009, the first quarter of 2010 returned to growth with a +4.9% increase year on year.

Growth in the telecommunications sector is being driven by the increasing demand for Smartphones as they make up 40% of the total sales value. In Western Europe one in five handsets sold runs a mobile operating system and uses a touchscreen or QWERTY keyboard as an input interface. Mobile Operating Systems include Symbian 60, Windows Mobile, Linux, Android, iPhone OS, RIM and Palm WebOS.

Internet access has become “ubiquitous” which is driving interest in mobile services to a much broader audience. Mobile email is becoming the alternative to the well perceived SMS services and navigation software often come pre-installed on the devices. Social networks have become the most popular apps on smartphones, adding more relevance and immediacy the PC at home. Furthermore, many of these mobile operating systems are also being used on netbooks and tablet PCs, which are being sold through network operators with 3G connectivity.

With a wide range of innovative, new smartphones showcased at the Mobile World Congress earlier this year and the recent interest in tablet PCs, growth in the telecommunications sector is likely to continue throughout 2010.

Windows 7 ignites upgrade cycle in the Information Technology market

The Information Technology market, the second biggest market behind Consumer Electronics in Western Europe, grew by +3.6% in Q1 2010 and is now worth EUR 11.5 billion.

Consumer demand is focusing on Mobile Computers, but also on accessories, peripherals, software and especially All-In-One-Desktop Computers too. The successful introduction of Windows 7 initiated a new replacement and upgrade cycle. Lots of consumers leapfrogged Vista, staying with existing installed hardware, software and even accessories and peripherals. Overlooking Vista led to many installed products being outdated upon the arrival of Windows 7, thus consumers were “ready” for an update. As consumers are becoming more aware, they are looking for a wide product range. As a consequence expectations for 2010 are positive following this trend in consumers’ attitude.

Strong demand for LCD-TV’s returns growth back to the Consumer Electronics market

Consumer Electronics, the largest technology sector in Western Europe, recorded year on year growth of +0.7% in Q1 2010. The impact of the recession on the Consumer Electronics markets no longer exists as demand for LCD TVs strengthens for three key reasons.

Firstly, most countries in Europe have a huge consumer demand for replacing the old CRT-TV with a new flat LCD-TV. Of course, the World Cup in South Africa is supporting this trend and quickening the desire to replace old TV sets. With the stabilisation of prices over the past months, the revenue situation also saw an improvement.

Secondly, the digital switch over is another contributing factor to the growth in this market. With analogue TV being phased out, new set top boxes or even a new TV set are required to receive digital TV channels. This development is most strongly observed in Spain (+16%), Italy (+6.9%) and Portugal (+4.4%). Home entertainment in general gained importance with better HiFi products or “TV ecosystems” becoming increasingly popular. Positive and substantial impulses were seen from Blu-ray, Home Theatre Sets, Loudspeaker Sets and of course High Definition set top boxes.

Finally, consumers’ willingness to invest in flat screens, HD and better sound systems for the home, is a clear sign of the “homing-trend”. This willingness-to-invest combined with the anticipated impact of the World Cup gives reason to expect an even better second quarter 2010.

2010 consumer technology outlook is positive

In addition, GfK TEMAX covers other consumer technology sectors in Western Europe and all but one experienced growth. Other technology sectors that grew in Q1 were Photography (+2.7%), Major Domestic Appliances (+ 4.1%) and Small Domestic Appliances (+6.5%), but Office Equipment and Consumables sector contracted -1.2% compared to the same period in 2009.

These positive growth figures in Q1 are likely to continue throughout the year and Michael Sauter, head of GfK TEMAX, comments that:

“The first signs for April are looking positive. Our data show the Technical Consumer Goods market continuing on the road to recovery, indicating more growth to come in Q2-2010.”

Check back in July for the latest data and analysis from GfK TEMAX

ABOUT GfK TEMAX

GfK TEMAX® is an index developed by GfK Retail and Technology to track the consumer durables markets. GfK TEMAX® is published internationally. The findings are based on surveys carried out by the retail panel of GfK Retail and Technology. The retail panel comprises data from over 340,000 retail outlets worldwide. Click here for all reports and press releases

PHOTO COURTESY OF

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndevil/

Apple sell 2 million iPads but competition will be fierce in 2010

Expect to see a vibrant and competitive tablet PC market over the next 12 months as Apple sell 2 million iPads globally in less than 60 days.

Apple certainly knows how to get the media and public excited about their latest creation, the iPad. Everyone is talking about the iPad and tablet PCs and this is not just tech press but also mainstream news bulletins. Apple is extremely proficient at sparking people’s imagination around all the creative ways their products, iPhone and iPad, can be used. Apple’s famous strapline for the iPhone was “there’s an app for that” which creates a powerful perception that anything is possible, and the same applies on the iPad.

Whilst Apple have created an enormous buzz around tablet PCs and educated the market as to all the potential uses, competitors will be launching rival products to compete with Apple’s iPad. In the next 12 months we’ll see a plethora of tablet PCs launched from a number of different manufacturers, running a number of different operating systems, from Microsoft Windows to various open source based platforms such as Android and MeeGo (Intel and Nokia joint venture).

The tablet PC market will be a place where laptop manufacturers and smartphone providers really start to compete head to head. At the smartphone end of the market expect to see Nokia, Blackberry and HP (running newly acquired Palm OS) launch alternatives to the iPad. At the PC end of the market the first entrant will be the Dell Streak which will quickly follow the iPad launch in mid June. Asus and Lenovo also have tablet PCs in the pipeline, which will most likely be based on Windows 7. Google won’t be left behind and will launch either an Android or even a Chrome OS based tablet during the course of the year.

With all the different tablet PCs, consumers will be spoilt for choice. Looking at the main three operating systems, Apple mobile OS, Windows 7 and Android/Chrome OS, each company will take a slightly different approach which will add great variety for consumers. For example, Google will be pushing for more of a cloud-based solution, Apple will be heavily app and services based while Microsoft will be evolving their traditional Windows based platform that everyone is familiar with.

As tablet PCs become more popular the netbook market will take a further nosedive. In July 2009 the netbook market grew an astonishing 641% but in April 2010 it grew only 5%, a remarkable fall from grace.

So if netbooks fall victim to tablet PCs, who will benefit?

Well, the iPad was launched in the UK last Friday and today Apple announced that they have sold more than 2 million units globally. According to GfK NOP Technology research Apple are expected to sell up to 2 million 1^st generation iPads in the UK if they can meet high levels of early demand. The pricing of the iPad varies and is available as Wi-Fi only models as well as 3G devices from the major UK operators. Apple will almost certainly occupy the more premium end of the market, with competitor tablets likely to be more cost effective. However, price is not the only determining factor for success. The provider who can package up content and services that make tablets easy to use and relevant to the consumer will be the ones who come out on top.

Apple has proven credentials when it comes to delivering multi-media services and apps to their users. They’re not standing still either as Apple launched the iBookstore on the iPad which has already sold 1.5 million ebooks in the US. But even in the services market, competition is strong. Expect to see compelling service offerings from Google, Nokia, RIM (Blackberry) and HP Palm, all of which produce excellent hardware and are quickly improving their services and access to vibrant market places for 3^rd party apps.

If competitor tablets can get their service offerings right we can expect to see a very competitive and exciting tablet market in the next 12 months.

IPTV – shall we all forget the set-top boxes and buy internet-enabled TVs?

IPTV is no longer tied to commercial bundles of high speed internet access, television and telephone (triple play), but the success of the technology continues to be dependent upon the strength of the home broadband connection.

The uptake of triple play offerings in the UK is somewhat sluggish compared with the US and other EU markets. However, along with the two established players, Sky (satellite) and Virgin (cable), the adoption of high speed broadband internet connection over recent years has led to the rise of various forms of bundled and unbundled internet protocol television (IPTV) services.

For the purpose of this article, IPTV as a term includes subscriber-based offerings requiring the installation of set-top boxes (eg BT Vision, TalkTalk TV, etc.), but also free or commercial services that offer some sort of live television, time-shifted TV programmes, and video on demand (eg BBC i-Player, ITV Player, Channel 4 on demand (4oD), YouTube, LOVEFILM etc.) relying on other customer-premises equipment (CPE).

With CPEs, aside from the traditional definition (ie a router bundled with an internet connection, a mobile handset as part of a contract with a mobile provider, etc.), it makes sense to include any internet-enabled, end-user equipment that consumers use to view any of the forms of IPTV mentioned previously. As such, recent research* by GfK NOP Technology division indicates that 80% of the UK internet population watch IPTV and are using primarily the following CPEs:

An emerging trend here is the role of the TV set as a CPE device. Further more, isolating the fact that there is a good portion of the population (25%) who use their flat panel TV set to view IPTV, the same research identfies that the top three ways to do so are:

By connecting to a pc/laptop – 38%
Via a game console – 22%
Directly connected to a broadband router – 16%

Interestingly, the list does not include services that rely on a set-top box installation (Virgin is in fourth place – 11%, while BT Vision has only a very small penetration – 2%). In addition, internet-enabled TVs, only available since 2009 in the UK, appear to make an interesting category.

Having seen consumers bypassing the standard triple play offerings in terms of CPEs, the next question is what type of content they choose to watch over internet?

Our research indicates that amongst all people who watch video content over the internet, free IPTV services such as BBC i-Player, YouTube, 4oD and ITV Player, are the highest used, while premium services, like iTunes, Sky TV and Virgin Media fall behind:

In this situation, it is not surprising that triple play offerings (eg Sky and Virgin) are already including, or are starting to include, these popular video on demand services (i.e. BBC i-Player, YouTube, etc.) as part of their offering. Nevertheless, some might question why they should buy into triple play rather than just get an internet enabled TV in order to watch the most popular and free IPTV services such as BBC i-Player?

Leading TV manufacturers are all starting to offer this type of functionality – Panasonic with its VieraCast system, Philips – NetTV, Samsung – internet@tv, Sony – applicast, etc – and are making an effort to incorporate popular IPTV services into their internet widgets. However, the technology relies on the quality of the home broadband connection, without any control over the “last mile”, or guarantee over the quality of service that a commercial triple play provider can offer. This might sound trivial, but our survey also confirms that satisfaction with IPTV when considering connectivity/speed and image resolution is only moderate at 62% and 66% respectively.

Nonetheless, consumers today have increasingly more options to watch IPTV and this can only be a good thing. The challenge should lie with the providers of IPTV services and CPEs to leverage the technological advantages and create new opportunities. Triple play providers should not perceive this evolving nature of IPTV as a threat, but as something that can help boost its uptake in the UK market.

Research Info
*1000 online interviews were conducted by GfK NOP among a UK representative sample of internet users. The fieldwork was conducted in March 2010

Low levels of trust in Facebook over privacy

A recent UK study finds consumers have less faith in Facebook than either Microsoft or Google to keep their personal information private

Social networking sites typically involve disclosing often very personal information to your circle of friends and to this end, it is important to have faith that the social networking brand will respect the privacy of this information. Recent research by GfK Technology indicates, however, that Facebook has lower levels of trust in keeping personal information private than either Microsoft or Google. Given the remarkably high levels of usage of Facebook this is clearly a concern for the brand owners.

This illustrates the dilemma facing organisations such as Facebook – whilst consumer behaviour or personal information can be key to creating new services that are enjoyed by users, there is often a sense of unease about data being used in this way. Furthermore, as is likely the case with Facebook, the illicit activity of unscrupulous users of the service (such as those posing as friends in order to conduct fraud of some description) has a knock-on effect for the brand.

It is also very likely that changes to Facebook’s privacy policy introduced last year have had an impact on consumer perceptions with much comment that they are designed to ‘nudge’ consumers into publicly sharing much more information. Facebook meanwhile indicate that they are simply trying to encourage people to be more open with their updates. Whatever the rights and wrongs in this situation if consumers suspect that the level of privacy that they signed up for is changing and even worse changing without their full awareness they will quickly start losing faith. Facebook have recently made a few changes to the privacy settings control panel as part of an ongoing review of their data privacy policy. This time round, Facebook needs to effectively manage consumers’ expectations and their understanding of its privacy policy for consumers to place more trust in the service.

As cloud computing solutions become much more widespread the public debate over privacy and the use of personal information will reach new heights. There could easily be significant public backlashes against brands that are considered to be making the wrong move in this space.

Research Info

*1000 online interviews were conducted by GfK NOP among a UK representative sample of internet users. The fieldwork was conducted between 12th – 15th February 2010

Google Chrome is winning market share from Internet Explorer in areas that will hurt most

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 browser ballot . 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 click here

How we collect the data

Monthly sample size; March 2010 (n=1226)

Google Chrome and Firefox gaining ground on Internet Explorer since Windows browser ballot

Since Windows introduced a browser ballot at the start of March, GfK Technology research shows that Internet Explorer has lost market share in the UK. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox have been the main beneficiaries of this new EU enforced regulation.

It was inevitable that Internet Explorer would lose some of its market share when its users were offered alternative browsers at the start of March. The EU thought it was essential that consumers should be offered a choice of browser, to stimulate competition in the browser market.

Early data suggests that when faced with an option, UK consumers have opted for an alternative browser. As we approach the end of March we can see that since the beginning of the month Internet Explorer’s market share in the UK has dropped 5%, with Google Chrome and Firefox each gaining an additional 3% market share.

We will continue to track the developments of internet browser usage over the course of the year so check back for more data and analysis over the next few months. If you’re interested, GfK Technology has been tracking consumer usage of internet browsers since the start of 2009 and we have created a shared Google document with our latest data here

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 the question directly, 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 sizes were as follows; February (n=1231) and March (n=1226)

GfK TechTalk

Independent technology research and opinion

Google continues the onslaught with Chrome

Companies allowing time off to watch England will increase employee motivation during the World Cup period

Apple sell 2 million iPads but competition will be fierce in 2010

IPTV – shall we all forget the set-top boxes and buy internet-enabled TVs?

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