Browsers – How Important Are They?

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Browser In an article on CNBC by Christina Cheddar Berk she explores what browsers are being used by the time of day they are being used. For ecommerce sites this is extremely relevant. If you want to ensure that it is your site that gets the sale, then consumers need to have confidence that whatever browser they use will get the job done. This includes both mobile and desktop users. Things need to look good and they need to work well or consumers will find another site to make their purchase from.

Have a look at the chart by Monetate that Christina included in her article.

browser by time of day

It is really telling. Time of day makes a huge difference in the browser being used.

So the moral of the story is: If you want your site to be accessible any time of day, then you really need to ensure that any browser can be used or you risk losing that precious sale.

A big Thank You to Dan Meyers at Your Life, Their Life for calling my attention to this article.

What browser or browsers do you use for online shopping?

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  1. Dan Meyers says:

    Cheryl – it surprised me when I read this because I didn't expect Chrome to be used so frequently. I switch between IE, Chrome, and Safari and like the majority of the respondents, I mostly only use IE when I'm forced to because of work stuff!

    • Geek Girl says:

      Like you I only use IE when I am forced to. I use Chrome as my main browser, then FireFox and Safari. I use Dolphin for my mobile browser on my Droid. I appreciate you alerting me to this article. πŸ™‚

  2. Really surprised by those figures? How can anybody us Internet Explorer and wait several minutes before anything happens?
    Since Chrome was released that's the only one I use. Twice tried to make Chrome the main browser for my computer. Each time I did Microsoft crashed the computer. They have recently been fined by the European Union for such activities.

    Loved it when they made research and found that the most intelligent people use Chrome. And, sorry to say, but people with really low IQ used Internet Explorer. When you look at your figures together with those results you get a picture of the world that's most likely accurate:-)

    • Geek Girl says:

      All I can say is 'Wow'… I had no idea they actually did research relating intelligence with browsers used. Very interesting. So based on this I guess I am pretty smart because I use Chrome on my Mac and on my iPad. Dolphin is as close to Chrome as I could get for my Droid. πŸ™‚

  3. findingourwaynow says:

    This is fascinating stuff. It just goes to show, you never know what may be important and when. Making a website user friendly to these browsers is important, but this points out just how much. Thanks to you and Dan for pointing this out.

    • Geek Girl says:

      Yes. Huge kudos to Dan! I loved this article. And then Catarina's comment was just the icing on the cake. πŸ™‚

  4. Look at that! 15% of evening e-commerce market share is coming from mobile Safari and we can expect to see that number grow rapidly in the next couple years.

    • Geek Girl says:

      Mobile browsers will be the rule rather than the exception.

  5. joannerambling says:

    I only use one browser and that is Firefox and love it I think it is much better the Internet Explorer………

    • Geek Girl says:

      I used to be a devoted FireFox user. I still use it, but my main browser in now Chrome. It's faster and more reliable than FireFox. It may be because I push my browsers pretty hard. πŸ™‚

  6. Very interesting. I used to go back and forth between chrome and firefox, but now I'm almost exclusive to Firefox. Still the facts surprise me. I'm sure mobile safari will be much bigger in the years to come.

    • Geek Girl says:

      I know a lot of people who use FireFox. I still use it occasionally. Safari will no doubt grow its market share. πŸ™‚

  7. namirusso says:

    Umm, I'm totally lost on this one. Still, you made it sound pretty pertinent!

    I've always leaned towards Firefox but my iPad forced me to use Safari and frankly…I can't tell the diff.

    • Geek Girl says:

      What is important is that whatever browser you use must be able to work for you in all circumstances. For you it means that anyone visiting your blog needs to be able to use any browser and have it work. πŸ™‚

  8. Warren says:

    Wow, I didn't realize there were so many people using IE.
    I used them for years, and finally got tired of the added minutes that accumulated while I waited. LOL

    I loved Firefox, but due to daily crashes with it I've been moving over to Chrome lately.
    After reading Cat's comment maybe I'll hurry that up. πŸ™‚

    • Geek Girl says:

      You and me both! Run don't walk over to Chrome! LOL πŸ™‚

  9. JeriWB says:

    Switching to Chrome… another item on the never-ending to-do list! But oh how I want to be be browsing with its super-intelligent users. For now I'm stuck with IE and the users on the short bus. I have used Firefox, but switched for a reason I can't even remember. Then there's Safari on my iPhone. My browsing needs probably aren't sophisticated enough to notice a huge difference though.

    • Geek Girl says:

      Hey – as long as you are using something that works for you that's all that matters. πŸ™‚