Cultural shifts and progression bring about change in all sectors of life, including the funeral industry. As the new year dawns, so do a variety of projected trends in the way funerals are held, run, and the defying of old traditions in favor of the new. The trends for 2019 hold great promise for those seeking to add fresh insight to the hundreds of years old traditions regarding death care. The up and coming trends include most broadly: changes in the way funerals are held and the ways that people are opting to be buried. More specifically, these trends circulate technology, cremation in its different forms, venues, and the ways that funerals are run. These trends are important as they reinvent funerals in the sense that they challenge the traditional funeral norms.
Technology in funerals
As technology becomes central to everyday living, it comes as no surprise that it is being more valued in funeral care. It is predicted that the new year involves even more technology in funerals. It is already becoming a widely popular practice to go paperless in end of life planning. Families are beginning to opt for online obituaries and announcing funeral details via social media and online invitations. These forms of communication are more convenient and save money and time, and as a result, are predicted to become more popular.
Another trend that is becoming more popular in the funeral sector is to broadcast funeral services, or at least record them as memorabilia. As funerals are often planned in short notice, many family members are unable to attend them. To remedy this, funeral homes are offering the option to broadcast the funeral to those family members unable to attend. This benefits the family members who are away and those who are present as the film is often saved and distributed post-funeral. The recordings are a precious keepsake for many families and are likely to increase in popularity.
The biggest change comes with the funeral homes themselves. Funeral homes have managed to evade the technology wave up to now. In the past pricing has been by phone or appointment only. Moving into the modern world pricing transparency will become critical to a their success. This means funeral homes will have to start investing in their online presence and quicker response time to emails and social media platforms.
It will be interesting to see how soon this shift takes place and how this will change the industry moving forward.
Cremation
It is well known that standard, cremation and water cremation are becoming more popular, and it is projected that this will only increase. Cremation in its different forms is not only more environmentally friendly, but it is also substantially more cost effective. As more people cue into this fact, the rates of cremation and aqua cremation rise. The year 2019 will likely bring even more cremation practices into the norm as people understand the benefits of it and various religions become more accepting of the practice. Cremation rates in the United States have risen every year, so it is a realistic expectation that 2019 brings even more popularity to the practice, and new ways to perform this service.
Venues and funerals
The venue of a funeral can be one of the most impersonal intimidating aspects to funeral planning, so an increasing number of families are choosing to change the traditional funeral scene altogether. As families strive to personalize funerals in the sense that it reflects the life of the diseased person, less funerals are being held in funeral homes and more in nontraditional settings. These settings include: churches, parks, homes, and favorite places of the deceased loved one. These changes are optimal as they save the family money and celebrate the deceased person’s life. The rise in cremation has also made it easier for families to personalize the venue. With all of these considerations, changing the location of the funeral services is becoming more widely practiced.
All these changes have led to funeral homes being more creative in their offerings. Many funeral homes have an event planner on staff to try and make the viewings, and/or services more personal.
Personalized Funerals
As previously mentioned, funerals are now taking a central focus on celebrating the deceased person’s life, and it is predicted that 2019 will bring even more of this trend. With the remembrance of the deceased person’s life comes a personalization of the ways that these funerals are being planned and run. Funerals are first being planned in advance, if death is expected, rather than after the person has died. This creates ease throughout the stressful process for many families and is quickly becoming the preferable route to funeral planning. Funerals are also being planned as a reflection and celebration of the person’s life rather than a traditional funeral. Funerals are now planned to incorporate more things that the person loved such as colors, music, pictures, foods, and venues. These small details contribute to the idea that the funerals are no longer the typical scene of all black and mourning, but rather evoke feelings of remembrance and reflection.
Many funeral services themselves are also being run more as an event and less of a traditional funeral for the sake of personalization, and the number of these types of funerals is predicted to increase. Families are even choosing to direct the funeral themselves and have all family members participate in some small way, it would be no surprise if this practice increases in occurrence. The name “Funeral” may even get a makeover in 2019.
What are some trends you have heard about, are there any you’re excited to see increase, any you’re not as thrilled about?