At the end of 2008, Firefox was incredibly in demand. It was actively used by about 20% of the 1.5 billion people who had access to the Internet at all. The Mozilla product was especially popular in Indonesia, Macedonia and Slovenia – more than half of those interested surfed the World Wide Web with its help. Ken Kovash, manager of Mozilla’s data analytics team at the time, noted that Firefox’s share in these regions was growing at a crazy pace. It is unfortunate that after a decade and a half, the specified browser is not in demand so much. However, it’s too early to discount it.
To begin with, it is important to understand the sources of Mozilla’s income.
Mozilla has a far from easy relationship with Google. The search giant, along with its Chrome browser, has been Firefox’s main competitor for years. However, it is the Alphabet subsidiary that helps the conditionally non-profit organization to stay afloat. Yes, yes, they are business partners: Google pays a lot of money to have its search in the Firefox address bar used by default. There is information that we are talking about 400-450 million dollars a year. Mozilla’s latest open reports published in 2020 confirm this: the company’s total revenue amounted to 496 million, of which 441 come from such transactions.
The Google-Mozilla deal was last extended in 2020 and will most likely expire in 2023. Judging by the dynamics of Firefox’s popularity, during this agreement, the browser’s share in the overall structure will decrease by another 1% (today it has no more than 3% of the market). Despite Mozilla’s assurances that its 215 million users have stable activity, there is no guarantee that Google will continue to invest the same amount in the Firefox search bar. There are no details on the negotiations of the companies, so it is worth starting only from the dynamics of the popularity of the browser itself. It is impossible to call it positive even with a strong desire.
💡 It is important to understandthat in matters of search, Mozilla has not only global partners, like Google, but also local ones. In Russia, for example, Yandex pays for its system, which is used by default in Firefox. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed, but for the local market, similar to the domestic one, the money is definitely significant.
Firefox usage statistics are falling, this is reducing revenues
It’s a pity, but Firefox is being used less and less. SVP of the project, Selena Deckelmann, confirms this. She emphasizes that the vector of declining interest in the browser is especially noticeable when considering the situation over the past five years. Today, its share, according to open statistics, is already less than 3% in the context of all types of devices combined. More than 30 million active Firefox users dropped out between 2019 and 2022, according to Mozilla. In general, the dynamics are disappointing, and the company is well aware of this. But they don’t plan to give up yet.
Firefox still has prospects. It should be understood that browser developers have always focused on both the safest use of the World Wide Web and its maximum openness. All this two decades ago gave Mozilla the opportunity to pull their brainchild out from under the shadow of Netscape. However, today virtually all browsers offer a similar level of security and are extremely sensitive to data privacy. Moreover, more and more projects appear on the market that put these factors in the first place in their strategy. That is why interest in Firefox is steadily declining, and Mozilla is even cutting its staff.
To survive, Mozilla needs to diversify its revenues.
The creators of Firefox simply have no other long-term options, and Mozilla is well aware of this. Some advances, though not the most successful ones, have already been made in this section. We are talking, for example, about a premium subscription to the delayed reading service Pocket, which is owned by the creator of Firefox. It also has a couple of VPN services that you can subscribe to for an additional fee. After all, in order not to depend on Google’s funds, Mozilla also places its own ads on the new tabs of its browser, which generate additional income.
Everything described above is not just words, they are confirmed by numbers. Mozilla’s combined subscription and advertising revenue has grown from $14 million in 2019 to $20 million in 2020. It is quite possible that the data of 2021 will show about 14% of funds from own services in the structure of the company’s total income. Such a move towards independence from Google leads to a healthier business model for the company, which will clearly have a positive impact on its future development. The main thing is that Mozilla should not have more misses, like smartphones on Firefox OS from the 2010s. It’s simply not possible to screw up a company that badly.
💡 Interestingthat Firefox, despite its privacy policy, once had big security issues. The browser’s encrypted file-sharing service was actively used to distribute malicious software, and it eventually had to be shut down.
Firefox’s privacy bet should just be gone
In search of new sources of income Mozilla in the future will clearly have to change the marketing positioning of Firefox. Lourdes Turrecha, founder of Rise of Privacy Tech, which tracks privacy-focused companies, confirms this. He notes that there are already too many browsers on the market today that use privacy in their branding. In addition to Firefox, Safari, DuckDuckGo, Brave, Vivaldi and even Tor play in the same field. For the average user, the difference between them in terms of saving personal data is minimal. Therefore, for this, it is clearly necessary to look for new ways.
Of course, Firefox’s revenue differentiation needs to be done as carefully as possible. It’s important that Mozilla has a clear strategy for positioning the browser on all possible platforms. Company policy should not be repulsive. Bart Willemsen, privacy specialist at Gartner, says Firefox needs to find a new unique advantage without losing existing users. He emphasizes that letting a person abandon a product is very simple, but getting him back is an extremely difficult task.
There is no point in fighting Mozilla’s Chrome
For many years, Firefox has been considered the main alternative to Google’s proprietary browser. However, almost 15 years since its inception in 2008, Chrome has become synonymous with the Internet. Today it is used on 65% of the gadgets that are used to surf the web. When AMP or any other new feature appears in the Google browser, a huge number of sites try to implement it on their own. No alternative to Chrome can compete with it in any way. That is why Mozilla needs to find a place for Firefox among alternatives.
Former employees of Mozilla confirm that the company has already lost the war for leadership in the field of Internet surfing. There can only be one winner in this case. However, advanced users are still in search of something new. The reason to look at Firefox may be some interesting additional functionality that Google is not interested in implementing in Chrome for any strategic reasons. This could be a built-in ad blocker or quick access to any communication tools that competitors already implement.
💡 curiousthat the demand for Opera today is in an even more deplorable state than Firefox, despite a number of additional features. This browser, for example, has a built-in VPN that you don’t even have to pay to use. But this project still does not save.
Firefox could be the most personalized browser ever
At the moment, Selena Dekelmann sees the potential for Firefox development in the maximum personalization of the browser. It is quite possible that this is what will attract new users. Today, advanced settings for the appearance and functionality of web surfing tools are not actually provided – especially in the mobile segment. Moreover, it is important to add new features to such applications without fail. Mozilla, for example, is working on developing the home page, embedding abandoned search queries and unread materials there.
Deckelmann emphasizes that for many users today, personalization functionality is becoming extremely important – this is what is important to put in the first place. Moreover, Mozilla already has the first finds in this direction. Not so long ago, the company began cooperation with Disney. Within its framework, she proposes to change the design of the browser interface to suit the new Pixar animation project. Among all who use it, it is supposed to draw a free subscription to the Disney + service. Other applications simply do not offer anything like this. It is possible that the audience will appreciate it.
Source: Wired.
Source: Trash Box
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
