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Until recently, it seemed a safe assumption that
most end- users would access web shopping sites using Microsoft Internet
Explorer indefinitely. Depending on who was counting, more than 90%
of hits were from Internet Explorer. The exceptions were typically anti-Microsoft
zealots and technology enthusiasts, a vocal but small market segment.
Given how difficult it can be to support multiple browsers on a shopping
site--it can be challenging even to make a site work well with the various
versions of Internet Explorer--many shopping sites elected to optimize
around Explorer and ignore other browsers.
Eating market share
Recently, though, the Firefox browser from the Mozilla Foundation has
been eating into Explorer`s market share. According to web analytics
firm OneStat.com, its global market share jumped from zero to nearly
8.5% in less than five months, and technology sites such as W3Schools.com
report rates in the 20% range for web-savvy and home users. How long
these market share gains will continue is anyone`s guess, but there
are compelling reasons to believe it is a long-term trend and not merely
a fad.
Firefox has very respectable roots: The software is a derivative of
the Netscape browser, the market leader for several years until Microsoft
began shipping Explorer for free with every copy of Windows. The latest
version was developed as an open-source project under the auspices of
the Mozilla Foundation, a California not-for-profit organization supported
in part by AOL`s Netscape division. It passed the 25 million download
mark in February, driven by several factors:
It is free, and will remain free because of its open source status
It is more resistant to spyware, viruses and other security holes than
Explorer
It controls pop-up advertisements more effectively than Explorer
It has new features, including browser tabs, that make browsing more
efficient
It is not from Microsoft
The increasing popularity of Firefox is important to Internet retailers
for several reasons. First, Firefox does not always render web pages
in the same way as Explorer does. This is not because of bugs: the HTML
standard was never intended to guarantee identical display across browsers.
Weird displays
We first noticed problems with certain web sites displaying incorrectly
when our company attempted to sign up for the partner program of a large
and well-known system monitoring and application management company
using the Firefox browser. The site was designed in such a way that
the "submit" buttons of the application forms could not be
accessed with Firefox, and, ultimately, the application had to be submitted
using Internet Explorer.
Encountering this web site error increased our awareness of Firefox
incompatibility among certain web sites, which our team started monitoring
during the holiday shopping season. A pattern of less site functionality
developed when shopping with Firefox versus Internet Explorer, manifesting
itself in various ways including image load and zoom issues or misplaced
text, and it`s now a standard topic of awareness we discuss with our
customers.
The second reason retailers should be aware of the impact of Firefox
is that Firefox blocks pop-up windows by default, so if your shopping
site uses pop-ups, customers may not see them.
Third, for users who have switched to Firefox, avoiding Explorer is
probably more important than buying from you. These users have the choice
of loading Explorer to operate your site, or clicking over to your competitor.
Not only is the latter easier, but many such users are tired of spyware
and pop-ups and will resist loading Explorer in any event. Online banking
sites can hold onto these customers for a while, since it is painful
to change banks, and travel sites may get a call to the 800-number,
but online retailers are in the unfortunate position of having set a
high standard for online functionality in a market with low switching
costs.
Finally, Firefox`s increasing market penetration is part of a larger
trend toward browser diversity, which makes it a strategic rather than
tactical site issue.
Assess your site
To deal with this issue, the first step is simple: assess your shopping
site for Firefox compatibility. This can be done in a few hours by a
member of your technical or quality assurance staff. Simply exercising
the site`s capabilities will provide a good picture of the impact. If
you are fortunate, or your site was never optimized for Explorer, Firefox
users will see an attractive site that functions without incident.
More likely, it will be functionally sound but will have some warts
that detract from its appearance or make it more difficult for customers
to see or find information they are seeking. The worst outcome is that
certain functions of the site do not operate properly; for example,
critical buttons cannot be accessed or important information is not
displayed.
Another way to evaluate the impact of Firefox on your site is to use
your web analytics tool to report purchase conversion rates by browser.
However, this is not a comprehensive measure of the impact, both because
many shoppers will buy later in a physical store and because brand image
degradation is likely not reflected in immediate purchase statistics.
A session recording and replay tool can help with these measures, allowing
you to sample Firefox sessions, see what the user saw, and how he or
she responded. Together, these tools could surface problems that were
not apparent from your exercise of the site, and can give you an indication
of which incompatibility issues are most critical to resolve.
Improve functionality
Your next step depends on how your site fared in the evaluation and
how important your brand image is. If the site is functionally difficult
to use with Firefox, you will likely lose customers, both online and
offline, as a recent study by Forrester Research indicates that 70%
of consumers use the web to do pre-purchase research. At the rate that
Firefox market share grows, the brand impact will be severe.
If the site is merely unattractive with Firefox, you will have a few
months to correct the issues, because its users have some expectation
that sites will display differently. But Internet retailers set a high
standard, and by the end of 2005, most major retailers will have dealt
with these problems and tolerance will decrease. Firefox users will
lose some amount of respect for your brand, and eventually your site
will give the appearance of an outmoded or low-budget design.
Repairing Firefox-related site problems is a tactical issue that can
be addressed by comparing the impact of each category of problem with
its cost to remedy. These repairs can typically be phased in over time,
making the workload easier to absorb and improving the site as the Firefox
adoption numbers increase and tolerance for incompatibility goes down.
Long-term strategy
The rapid adoption of Firefox raises a strategic issue as well, and
now may be a good time for shopping sites to re-visit their site design.
Looking five to ten years out, most observers predict that the Explorer
market share will continue to decline. This is not only because of Firefox,
but also because shoppers are increasingly accessing the web through
alternative devices, including cellular phones and mobile personal information
managers. There is a good chance that new mobile devices will use derivatives
of Firefox as their browsers, since the software is open source and
can be customized to work well with any device.
Finally, the most successful online shopping sites have demonstrated
that simple and functional is more important than flashy and fancy.
Using least-common denominator browser features makes your site function
properly with the increasing variety of browser software. At the same
time, it makes the site easier for your staff to maintain and more effective
at converting and retaining online customers.
David Jilk is CEO of web site performance analysis company Xaffire
Inc. He also independently advises startup firms and has provided technology
due-diligence for investors and acquirers. He can be reached at davej@xaffire.com.
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