Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR) today announced the agenda for the upcoming Forrester Marketing & New Media Forum, “Selling To Digital Consumers,” to be held September 28-30, 1999, at the Grand Hyatt New York in New York City. This Forum will focus on how retail, marketing, and new media executives can use the Internet and other technologies to influence consumer buying, improve customer relationships, and drive sales.

Online retail sales will soar to $184 billion by 2004, while the Internet will influence consumers’ purchase decisions for another $500 billion in goods bought through traditional channels. But most companies are failing to capture their share of this exploding revenue stream. Forum speakers will explore how pervasive technology is changing consumers’ shopping habits; what strategies retail, marketing, and media companies need to adopt; and how the Internet can be used to drive online and offline sales.

“With 7 million new online shoppers in 1999, the time has come for online retailers to get serious about selling to digital consumers,” says David E. Weisman, group director of research at Forrester. “To come out on top, companies have got to get their marketing, selling, and service mix just right. This Forum will give Forrester’s vision of online retail and illustrate it with case studies from industry leaders to help retailers succeed online.”

To help retailers and content providers better understand the virtual consumer, Forrester will share insights from its Technographics® Benchmark Survey of morethan 100,000 North American households. The study classifies consumers by the motivations, attitudes, and income that they bring to their adoption and use of technology.

The Forrester Marketing & New Media Forum will feature case studies highlighting some of today’s leaders in Web marketing. These presentations, from companies such as eToys and priceline.com, will illustrate how to successfully integrate the Web into a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Featured speakers include: Kent Anderson, president, Macys.Com; Jim Rose, co-founder and chief executive officer, Accompany, Inc.; Jay S. Walker, founder and vice chairman, priceline.com; Toby Lenk, CEO and founder, eToys Inc.; Martha Stewart, chairman and chief executive officer, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia LLC; Stuart H. Wolff, chairman and CEO, Homestore.com; and George Bell, president, Excite@Home.

In addition to Weisman, featured Forrester speakers include: Mary Modahl, vice president, research; James L. McQuivey, senior analyst, Technographics; Chris Charron, research director, New Media Research; Lisa Allen, senior analyst, Consumer eCommerce Research; and Josh Bernoff, principal analyst, Consumer Technology Research.

The Forrester Marketing & New Media Forum is the fifth in a series of seven Forrester Forums taking place in 1999. Forrester Forums are designed to provide opportunities for senior executives to informally share ideas, discover the latest technology tools and vendors, and develop successful business strategies.