• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, August 23, 2016

Among all verticals, technology and gadget brands have invested the most heavily in mobile direct response over the past year.

As a result, this forward-leaning segment captured 24.3% of all ad dollars spent on performance campaigns during the second quarter, according to the latest findings from Opera Mediaworks.

Among those campaigns, the most successful have been for apps that offer daily utility to users, such as those that increase photo storage or track stocks.

While technology and quick-service restaurant sector captured the most annual spend, retail and e-commerce was the top category during the second quarter.

Taking another perspective, retail and automotive have shown the most consistent growth since the third quarter of 2015.

Yet, food delivery and QSR were not far behind, with 23.4% of annual ad spend.

Moving forward, however, these brands present a unique challenge for performance teams because they are often looking to optimize multiple KPIs at once, according to Jude O’Connor, Opera’s Vice President of Brand Performance.

“These top QSR brands are looking to do much more than drive app installs at their targeted CPI rate,” O’Connor notes in the new report. “They’re measuring post install engagements such as registrations and coupon downloads, with an ultimate goal of driving foot traffic to their brick-and-mortar locations.”