Chrome already owns 1.5% of iOS browser market

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After being announced during Google’s (GOOG) annual I/O Developer Conference last month, the Chrome Web browser for iOS has received positive feedback from users. The browser quickly became the most popular free app in Apple’s (AAPL) App Store and has since remained among the most popular free downloads. According to the latest data from online advertising network Chitika, Chrome now owns more than 1.5% of the iOS browser market. While Safari continues to dominate the market, of course, the firm found that almost 14.5% of iOS users surf the Web using other apps. Most of the this traffic doesn’t come from dedicated third-party browsers, however, but instead from in app-browsing through programs like Facebook and Tweetbot. Chitika’s press release follows below.

Chrome for iOS Grabs 1.5% Share of iOS Browser Market
New Live Tracker Monitors Chrome for iOS Adoption in Mobile Market in Real Time
On June 28th, Google announced the availability of its web browser, Chrome, on iOS 5, which over time may serve to shake things up. Until now, Safari has seen little to no competition from any mainstream browsers in the iOS environment. While iOS users do have alternate ways of surfing the internet, be it through an app or Facebook referrals (to name a few), Safari has experienced an effective monopoly in the iOS browser market. With the introduction of Chrome on iOS, Safari now has a legitimate competitor in the mobile browser market (which is always good for consumers). After its initial release, Chrome for iOS held a top position in the rankings for free apps in the iTunes market and continues to post moderate levels of growth.
Chitika Insights has been tracking the launch and adoption rate for the new Chrome for iOS browser to determine how much share they are taking from Safari for iOS, and how quickly. Our latest Live Tracker has just been launched, with the purpose of measuring Chrome for iOS adoption rate in real time.
The main pie chart featured on our Chrome for iOS Adoption Tracker shows current shares of browser usage on iOS 5. The three fragments we are analyzing include; Safari, Chrome, and “Other” (comprised mostly of app traffic), as seen below. (Note: Image below represents data on July 17, 2012)
Directing your attention below we have highlighted a few interesting data points revealed by the tracker as of July 17, 2012:

• Chrome’s share of iOS traffic is above 1.5% of all iOS web traffic. However, considering it launched just over two weeks ago, this current figure and continued growth seen on a week on week basis means share is on the rise
• 14.5% of iOS users chose to surf the web on a platform other than Safari. This statistic helps expose the greater story of how consumers interact, share, and navigate the web using smartphones and the constantly increasing number of applications available to them

The second element of our tracker analyzes historical browser usage for iOS. With this dynamic chart, we can infer Chrome’s adoption rate in real time (with a six hour delay to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the data).

In addition, users can filter out individual browsers to get a more specified perspective of a browser’s recent activity.

A few insights pulled from the trackers historical data include:

• Chrome didn’t make an impact in Chitika’s network until July 2, but its share of traffic shot to over 1% between the July 2 and 3, which may be due to word of mouth and its high profile status on the app store
• Chrome’s traffic share tends to fluctuate daily. Its current prime usage hours occur between 7 AM and 10 AM where it peaks at around a 2% share, but then slide back down later in the day. This indicates a high degree of morning use and can be correlated with consumer behavioral patterns in mobile usage

If Google Chrome’s share of web traffic continues to grow on iOS, it will be particularly interesting to see if it cannibalizes share from other browsers, or starts cutting into Safari’s lead. Will Apple respond to this new competitor by introducing new features to their Safari mobile browser and making other long sought after improvements? With this new tracker, we will now be able to see whether Chrome on iOS is a contender or a pretender, as well as what effect it will have on the overall market – in real time.

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