Web Browser Usage Share: May 2011

Net Applications has reported the web browser usage share numbers for May 2011. When Microsoft decided not to support XP for Internet Explorer 9, they narrowed the front for the browser wars to Windows 7.  We've been tracking this strategy ever since, and in May, Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7 reached 12.2% worldwide (including custom editions). In the U.S., Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7 averaged 17% usage share during the last three days of May. Looking at the chart, IE 8 retains its number one spot (and then some) with 42.5 percent usage share, compared to number two Chrome 11 (14.8 percent), Firefox 4 (14 percent), IE 9 (12 percent) and Firefox 3.6 (8.52 percent). Looked at more broadly (that is, just the browsers, not the browser versions), IE is again number one with 54.3 percent of the market, with Firefox in second place (21.7 percent), and Chrome in third (12.5 percent). Safari is curiously strong with 7.28 percent usage share, good for fourth place.