Tuesday, March 21, 2017
In 2005, cremation was the second most popular death care choice made by American families with over 60% choosing either to be buried or to bury their loved ones. In just a little over a decade since, that figure has been completely flipped upside down. In 2016, over 70% of American families chose to seek out cremation services at their local funeral home. This unprecedented trend has brought us to question, why is cremation becoming more popular? The truth is, there are many factors contributing to the popularity of cremation. In this blog post we will review these factors and help readers understand what this means for the future of death care.
First and foremost, cremation is a more affordable option than the traditional burial. Plain and simple. The average urn price is much lower than the average price of a casket, and burial plots are becoming increasingly scarce which has resulted in a buying frenzy that can be likened to a booming housing market. Secondly, the cremation trend can be attributed to a growing environmental consciousness that has seen many Americans taking action to decrease their overall footprint. Thirdly, people choose cremation over burial due to various cultural and religious reasons.
In the Fall of last year, the National Funeral Director’s Association released a report covering all of the major consumer trends in the death care industry. According to the findings of that eye-opening report by the year 2035 the cremation rate in North America will near 90%. That means, in addition to accommodating changing preferences, the traditional funeral home will have to reshape the way they communicate with families.
For funeral homes the next big question on the horizon is, what will this mean for the traditional funeral as we know it? And the answer is entirely generational. Within the next twenty years, burial will become virtually non-existent. It is no secret that millennials are beginning to say goodbye to their parents and statistics suggest that this will be a monumental, industry-wide shift towards their preferences. The numbers indicate that preference is cremation, however, the trend may be driven by something else.
One of the most significant factors behind the popularity of cremation is the changing perspective that younger people have towards death. Instead of mourning, millennials seem to prefer celebrating life and at the very least opting for personalized memorial services instead of the traditional funeral. Cremation allows for more flexibility when it comes to planning a service with the ability to incorporate things such as ash scattering ceremonies or moving away from the funeral home or cemetery all together.
At Colonial we like to stay on top of trends and work constantly to offer the families we serve the services they want. With the continuing growth in the demand for quality and affordable cremation services, we have renewed our commitment to working with families to ensure that all of their needs are met. We would like to invite you to explore our cremation service options and to contact us anytime with questions or concerns you may have. We look forward to being part of your cremation conversation.