I'm thrilled to announce that I'll be moving to Beijing, China later this month to lead Forrester's efforts in the Asia Pacific region to specifically support marketing & strategy professionals.

Explosive population growth, the rapid adoption of digital technologies, and increasing levels of disposable income make Asia Pacific the most exciting and lucrative market for global firms today. By 2014, Asia will include almost half of the world's online population, and China specifically will represent 34% of the world’s total population and 42% of all online users. And these consumers are spending – – today, 37% of online users in metropolitan China are buying over the Internet, with Forrester's Asia Pacific Online Retail Forecast predicting online retail spend in China will reach $356.1 billion (USD) by 2016. 

In order to succeed in the region, firms must navigate social, cultural, and economic complexities, and intimately understand country-specific consumer technology adoption and behavior. This knowledge will enable marketing and strategy professionals to effectively build new products, customize marketing messages, engage via multiple physical and digital touchpoints, drive sales and service, and deliver exemplary customer experiences. Forrester, via our growing global analyst teams, is committed to delivering the data, analysis, and insights to help marketing and strategy professionals succeed as their firms expand and mature in the APAC region.

Stay tuned for more developments on our efforts in the Asia Pacific region, including the announcment of our first ever Forrester event in China to be held in Shanghai on Nov. 15th. In the meantime, we already have a number of excellent reports on the region you can reference such as Understanding The Changing Needs Of Online Consumers In Asia Pacific, Trends in China's eCommerce Market, The Right Way To Globalize Your Interactive Marketing Programs, and Asia Pacific Online Retail Forecast, 2011 to 2016 (to name a few).  

Please also contact me directly at astockwell@forrester.com, or comment on this blog post, if you have any specific research requirements on the APAC region. I'll be looking to you to help us prioritize our agenda for APAC in 2012 and beyond.