iPad Rakes in Lion's Share of Black Friday Online Purchases

Apple's iPad accounted for 88.3 percent of the tablet devices used to make online purchases on Black Friday, according to data from IBM. The iPhone accounted for 8.7 percent of mobile device-based purchases, as well, which still topped total Android devices used at 5.5 percent.

Apple's iPad is the mobile device of choice for online purchasesApple's iPad is the mobile device of choice for online purchases

IBM based its findings on Digital Analytics Benchmark data collected from online retailers, and also included statistics for Amazon's Kindle (2.4 percent), Barnes and Noble's Nook (3.1 percent) and Samsung's Galaxy (1.8 percent).

Considering the number of Android-based devices sold, the iPad's dominance seems somewhat disproportionate at first glance. Instead of artificially skewed data, however, what IBM's finding may be showing is that iPad owners actually use their device while many Android tablet and smartphone owners use other devices -- like desktop and laptop computers -- to buy online.

The report also showed the number of mobile devices visiting retailer websites grew from 14.3 percent in 2011 up to 24 percent this year, and that the iPad accounted for about 10 percent of online shopping devices.

IBM's numbers a striking, and seem to make a clear point: Consumers may buy Android devices, but they use their iPads.