Fighting The Browser Wars
Software 'bundling' plays a key role in gaining new users — and market share.
by John Toon
A RECENT INTERNATIONAL ON-LINE SURVEY of World Wide Web users provides the first indication that "bundling" practices are having a significant impact on the so-called "browser wars."
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The results suggest that making browser software conveniently available — whether on hard drives of new computers, in popular software packages or in the start-up kits of major Internet service providers — may be the key to victory in the hard-fought competition for the browser market.
"The bottom line with respect to the 'browser wars' is that bundling has a major impact on who chooses which browser," says Jim Pitkow, a Georgia Institute of Technology researcher who has tracked Web trends during the past four years in the Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center's (GVU) World Wide Web Survey.
"The impact of including browser programs with other hardware or software purchases especially affects novice users, who are simply using what is made available to them. Capturing the novice users is important because they tend not to switch browsers."
Among relevant findings from several new questions added to the eighth GVU World Wide Web Survey, conducted in the fall of 1997:
Novices were more than twice as likely as
more experienced respondents to be using Microsoft's Internet Explorer
browser program. Among respondents who had been using the Web for less
than a year, 38 percent reported using the Microsoft product, compared
to just 19 percent for those with more than three years of Web
experience.
More than a third of respondents said
they chose their browser software because it was installed on their new
computers, included in the start-up kits of their Internet service
provider or made available as part of a software package they purchased.
This "bundling" was the single largest reason cited, mentioned more
often than traditional product issues such as features or price.
Nearly three quarters of all users and
more than 80 percent of novices had not switched browsers in the past
year.
"Given these findings, it is not surprising to see the slow, but steady emergence of Internet Explorer as market share is being gained primarily from new users who receive the browser as part of other computer-related purchases," Pitkow says. "Unless there is a change in these bundling practices or user willingness to switch browsers, we can expect to see a continuing change in market share."
Asked why they chose the browser they were using, some 32 percent of the approximately 7,000 users responding to the question cited availability of the bundled software. Other important factors in the question, which allowed more than one answer, were "features" (27%), "easiest" (25%), "experience" (25%), "reputation" (18%), "free" (16%) and "already use" (16%).
For novices, defined as respondents who had been using the Internet for less than 12 months, 45 percent said they chose their browser because it was bundled. Among this group of new users, 81 percent said they had not switched browsers during the past year, compared to 72 percent for all users. Pitkow believes the reluctance to switch stems from several issues, including resistance to learning new software programs, concern about installing new software, lack of experience in downloading software from the Internet and few perceived differences between the two leading browsers.
This reluctance provides an advantage to Netscape among more experienced users, who began using its Navigator browser before Microsoft became a major player in the market. But experienced users are also more likely to switch browsers because they are familiar with software download procedures, comfortable working on their computer systems and may need to upgrade from older browser versions, Pitkow notes. But the more experienced segment accounts for a declining portion of the online population.
The "browser wars" appear to have created significant confusion among Web users. In the 7th GVU World Wide Web Survey conducted last spring, 81 percent of users said they expected to be using Netscape Navigator a year later, while only 12 percent said they expected to use Internet Explorer.
In the 8th Survey, conducted during October and November 1997, just 60 percent said they expected to be using Netscape's Navigator or Communicator 12 months later, while 15 percent said they expected to be using Internet Explorer. But 22 percent of the respondents to the 8th Survey said they expected to be using "other" browsers, compared to just 3 percent who selected that option in the 7th.
While some respondents selecting the "other" category may have been Web TV users, Pitkow believes most of these responses indicate confusion caused by the hype over the two leading products. "There is a lot of indecision by the users about which product they should be using," he says.
Other surveys have shown the Microsoft browser with as much as 30 to 50 percent of the U.S. market, compared to the 23 percent share of the international market shown by the GVU survey.
Though it lacks the accuracy of a survey based on true random sampling, the GVU World Wide Web Survey is widely seen as a reliable source of information on trends in Web demographics, purchasing trends and related issues. The survey tracks changes over the past four years — nearly the entire life of the World Wide Web.
Beyond information on browser use, the survey also reports general demographics, technology use, attitudes toward privacy and other Web issues, and use of the Internet for electronic commerce. Researchers conducted another survey in April and May this year. Complete results can be found at http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys/survey-1997-10/ or purchased in paper form from the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, (404-894-9727) or by fax (404-894- 9728).
For more information, you may contact the Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0280 (Telephone: 404/894-0671)
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