Watch out Internet Explorer, Apple’s mobile Safari is eating your lunch (infographic)

Mobile Safari, the browser found on Apple’s iOS devices, is quickly emerging as a major player in the new browser wars. Now as Internet Explorer’s market share is falling, mobile Safari is snapping up Internet Explorer users alongside Google’s Chrome browser, according to the latest data from ecommerce technology company Monetate.

Based on data from the more than 100 websites using Monetate’s platform, the company found that mobile Safari market share jumped to 11.12 percent in the January-March 2012 quarter, up from 5.84 percent a year ago. Meanwhile, Internet Explorer’s share fell from 53.45 percent last year to 42.35 percent.

Safari’s growth was slightly faster than Google Chrome, which grew from 8.08 percent last year to 14.42 percent this quarter. Given the continued success of the iPhone and iPad, I suppose it’s not too surprising that a mobile browser is now shaping up to be a browser war contender.

The news is particularly interesting since recent data from NetMarketShare showed Internet Explorer was finally regaining market share.

As always, we should take this data with a grain of salt based on Monetate’s sampling, but it’s still interesting to see. Check out the full infographic below (click to enlarge), which also lists browser market share data from StatCounter.