Forrester Research B.V., Forrester’s European headquarters (Nasdaq: FORR) and Europe’s leading provider of analysis on the Internet and emerging technologies, today announced the launch of two new streams of strategic analysis on Germany’s Internet economy — the German Financial Services Market Focus and the German Business-To-Consumer Market Focus.

The creation of these two new nation-specific European Market Focuses is the first step towards transitioning recently acquired Frankfurt-based FORIT GmbH — which will shortly become Forrester’s Germany Research Center. Additionally, the two new German Market Focuses will augment Forrester’s existing Pan-European and UK- and German-specific strategy research and proprietary data products — Technographics® Europe and Internet AdWatch™.

“Germany’s online consumer base is growing rapidly, both in number and in the adoption of new interactive channels, and it is set to be Europe’s largest Internet economy by 2005, generating more than $386.5 billion in eCommerce revenues,” commented Cliff Condon, group director of European Strategy Research at Forrester B.V. “To seize the opportunities that Germany offers, companies need to have a deep understanding of the unique dynamics and complexities of this market and how to implement winning eCommerce strategies and build sustainable eBusinesses. This further expansion of our strategy research will ensure that Forrester remains the first choice for eCommerce research, regardless of whether the buyer is a local merchant or a global player.”

Forrester’s German B2C research will provide clients with valuable insights into how to attract consumers, satisfy their eCommerce demands, and utilize traditional, as well as emerging, interactive channels to their advantage. This research will help companies select and implement the right online merchandising, marketing, and promotional strategies. The German Financial Services Market Focus will concentrate on the eBusiness opportunities and challenges facing incumbent financial companies and the new breed of Open Finance portals transforming the way that financial services are brought to the nation’s online consumers.

“Providing localized research in national markets across Europe is key to our ongoing expansion strategy,” said Robert Mutschler, research director at FORIT. “The fact that we have been able to introduce these two important new streams of German strategy research so quickly, underlines how well-matched Forrester and FORIT are in terms of research methodologies and commitment to delivering the highest quality analysis possible. Also, leveraging FORIT’s expertise and deep local-market knowledge enables Forrester to tailor its offerings to the needs of clients in Europe’s largest national economy. Clients can combine localized German language research with Forrester’s existing European and German-specific data products, such as Internet AdWatch — launched in Germany in June — and Technographics.”

FORIT was founded in 1998 by Steffen Binder and Christian Nolterieke, former Monitor Group consultants. FORIT delivers insight on the rapidly growing German eCommerce marketplace through a stream of written research, consumer data, and expert advisory services. With a client roster that includes leading companies across a range of industry sectors in German-speaking countries, FORIT has established itself as a trusted advisor to senior executives crafting Internet strategy. The company has its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, maintains an office in Switzerland, and employs 23 people.