While Sears, Amazon and Dell had the highest-ranking mobile sites in terms of performance on Cyber Monday, more than 40 percent of shoppers still expressed frustration with their mobile shopping experience over the holiday weekend.

Shoppers using the iPad on Cyber Monday drove more retail purchases than any other device with conversion rates reaching 5.2 percent, according to a new report from IBM.

Sears customers used their mobile devices to shop and make purchases during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and on Cyber Monday, delivering double digits gains for the retailer.

Mall of America’s Black Friday activities this year included a QR code contest that saw 300 early-morning shoppers line up for a chance to snap a QR code and win a prize while 1,000 shoppers snapped QR codes over the weekend to enter another contest.

PayPal saw a 516 percent increase in global mobile payment volume on Black Friday in 2011 compared to 2010.

Sears, Amazon and BestBuy had the highest-ranking mobile commerce sites for Black Friday, according to the Compuware Gomez Performance Satisfaction Index.

Brands and marketers are taking note that mobile is a key ingredient in driving in-store traffic and retail sales. It is no surprise that companies are building apps specifically for Black Friday to provide consumers with another purchasing medium.

The Mall of America is rewarding Black Friday shoppers with an in-mall display that lets users snap QR codes to win prizes from the mall’s retailers.

There was a notable increase in the number of visits to Amazon.com’s mobile Web site towards the end of the year compared to earlier in 2010, according to Opera.

While consumers did make purchases using their mobile devices on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, redeeming coupons and comparing products and prices are the top mobile commerce trends so far this holiday season.