According to IBM's November 24-released Thanksgiving and Black Friday report on mobile shopping, the Apple iPad was the most popular device which the shoppers used for accessing the discount deals that marked the beginning of this year's holiday shopping season.

As per the report, the weekend witnessed a notable surge in online shopping sales, thanks largely to the early promotions; with the biggest increase having been witnessed from mobile consumers, led by the users of the iPad.

Going by the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark - which is based on statistics from tracking department stores, apparel, health and beauty, and home goods -, the iPad accounted for a staggering 88.3 percent of all tablet shopping on Thanksgiving and Black Friday; with the mentioned percentage representing 9.3 percent of all mobile shopping.

In comparison to the evident dominance of the iPad for the purpose of the Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping this year, shopping via the iPhone represented 8.7 percent of overall shopping from mobile devices; while Android-based devices accounted for barely 5.5 percent towards that end.

Meanwhile, with IBM's online sales having witnessed a 13.4 percent year-on-year increase overall on Thanksgiving Day, and 20 percent increase on Black Friday, Jay Henderson - strategy Director for IBM Smarter Commerce - said: "This year's holiday shopper was hungry for great deals and retailers didn't disappoint, rolling out compelling offers which consumers gobbled up on Thanksgiving straight through Black Friday."