ZURICH: Ageing societies, increased consumption levels in developing markets, and the growing importance of sustainability are the global "megatrends" which will have the most profound impact on companies in the long-term, a new study by Credit Suisse predicts.

While the economic crisis has been "tumultuous", the financial services giant argued there are more fundamental shifts which "are surely and steadily re-shaping the world around us."

Firstly, substantial demographic changes are clearly at work, observable both in the ageing populations of the developed world, and the comparative youth of societies in many rapidly-emerging economies.

Previous forecasts have predicted that the number of people over the age of 60 years old will climb from 600 million in 2000 to around 1.2 billion in 2025, and then to 2 billion in 2050.

Similarly, the fastest-growing consumer sub-group is that comprised of people over 80 years of age, with women outnumbering men by a ratio of two to one in this segment.

At the negative end of the spectrum, this "megatrend" will place substantial stresses on areas ranging from pension provision to healthcare systems.

More positively, Credit Suisse suggested companies should prepare for an "increase in consumer demand among the aging populations", and "some surprising solutions, as communities experiment with social and physical rejuvenation and re-defining the very meaning of aging."

In a similar fashion, the growing importance of a number of developing economies, both politically and economically, will change the face of manufacturing and global consumption.

The increasing wealth of citizens in countries like the BRIC nations demands that domestic firms must move beyond simply being low-cost manufacturing outlets for advanced economies.

Rather, focusing on "production for emerging-market 'home' consumers is a natural outcome of their rising spending power," Credit Suisse said.

"The brand- and quality-building imperatives now at work in these dynamic economies will provide investors with many interesting investment opportunities," it added.

China is one market where this imperative is most obvious, as the world's most populous nation continues to enhance it global profile.

Zhouying Jin, director of the center of technology innovation & strategy studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, suggested this requires a move away from the mentality of "made in China", to one of "created in China".

Finally, sustainability will play an essential role in all areas from food production to the use of artificial intelligence and robotics, in an effort to find ecologically sound solutions to the challenges presented by climate change, according to Credit Suisse.
  
Procter & Gamble, the US consumer goods giant, is one major corporation that has already committed to making a substantial investment in this area.

By contrast, General Motors has been cited as an example of a company that failed to successfully innovate ahead of the market, having halted production of the EV1, a pioneering electric car, in 1999.

Data sourced from Credit Suisse; additional content by Warc staff