This American data was reported in the IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark.

IBM has released its Digital Analytics Benchmark which looked into the mobile commerce sales that occurred on Christmas Day and has revealed that once again the largest number of purchases were made by devices based on Apple’s iOS operating system.

Overall, there was an increase in online shopping in the United States of 16.5 percent over last year.

That said, what they underscored as being most notable was the number of mobile commerce sales and the increase that occurred between Christmas Day last in 2012 and in 2013. Smartphone and tablet based purchases made up 29 percent of all of the online purchases that took place on that day. This was a notable increase from the 21 percent that was seen the year before.

iOS stood out as completely dominant in mobile commerce sales on Christmas Day 2013.

On that day, iOS came out far stronger than Android. Apple devices were the source of a tremendously higher percentage of the online purchases than those based on the Google operating system. In fact, the iOS share was five times greater than that of Android. Among all online sales, Apple’s devices were the source of 23 percent, and Android devices made up 5 percent of the purchases.

When focusing exclusively on mobile commerce sales, iOS devices represented a tremendous 83 percent, in comparison to a measly 16 percent from Android devices. This, despite the fact that the number of Android devices far outnumbers that of Apple devices. Android currently represents 51 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, leaving Apple way behind, but it still looks as though iOS is a market that can be monetized far more easily. Beyond the number of conversions, it is also the amount of traffic that was greater from Apple smartphones and tablets.

Furthermore, it was notable that tablets generated almost a fifth of the number of online sales on Christmas Day. This is much higher than the 9.3 percent from the same day the year before. This is surprising as there are far more smartphones than tablets.

China is quickly becoming a leader in the gaming market

China is well on its way to establishing itself as the most lucrative mobile games market in the world. The country has become a hub of activity when it comes to mobile gaming. Many consumers throughout the country are tethered to their mobile devices, which they use in just about every aspect of their daily lives, including gaming. Games are particular popular among those that commute to work and the majority of consumers have shown that they are quite willing to pay for the games that they enjoy.

Chinese consumers spend $13 billion on mobile games

According to data from the 2013 China Game Industry Annual Conference, Chinese consumers have paid more than $13 billion on mobile games in 2013. The majority of this money came through microtransactions. These transactions have become popular throughout the game industry and are used to provide consumers with access to new digital content. Microtransactions have become a very lucrative business model for developers and publishers alike and have begun to find their way into traditional games, expanding beyond the mobile space.

Gaming is becoming more convenient

Standalone mobile games currently account for 64% of the market in China. These games can be played on their own without having to be launched through a social media site or through a third party platform. Browser games, such as those played on social media sites, are also quite popular. Consumers appear to favor mobile games because of their convenience and the fact that they can be played anywhere and at any time. These games do not require any significant time investment, making them less stressful to play.

Developers move to take advantage of growing popularity

Growing sales of mobile devices is expected to impact the Chinese gaming market. As more consumers gain access to smartphones and tablets, more people are expected to be exposed to mobile gaming. Developers in China have been producing mobile games at a rapid rate in order to accommodate with consumer demand.