Although millions of American consumers hit retail stores on Black Friday, a significant number made the decision to stay home and purchase items through the internet. Many used their personal computers to buy products, and a large amount used their smartphones and tablets to get their shopping done. This highlights the growing trend of mobile devices being used for retail purchases.

Internet Retail reports that according to recent research by Easy2Technologies, the amount of Black Friday traffic on retail sites from smartphones and tablets increased by 155 percent, in comparison to the average number of daily visitors through the devices.

"Last year at this time, mobile and tablet shopping began to reach critical mass," says Ethan Cohen, CEO of Easy2 Technologies. "Since then, we have seen tablet sales explode and smartphone penetration continue its steady increase. Mobile shopping activity has grown 49 percent since August."

So what can retailers take from these findings? WRAL Techwire writes that mobile devices should be put at the forefront of retail purchasing technology. If merchants fail to provide mobile-optimized or -friendly websites, they could lose out on a significant amount of sales, not only during the holidays but throughout the rest of the year.