It is no secret that the millennial generation is changing various industries—and doing so mainly by force. Millennials are holding different views than what long-established tradition has, and they are replacing the old traditions for new ones. This circumstance is affecting many industries and they’re having to adjust or fail, the funeral industry is not free from this new movement. Millennials are modifying the traditional face of funerals with changes in planning, terminology, and execution.
One of the ways they are making change is in the way they are planning funerals. Millennials are turning away from the norm of funeral planning after the loved one has passed away, and opting to prepare beforehand. The generation expects a set plan before death in order to ease the process of finalizing funeral plans after death. This plan offers the leniency and personalization that many millennials value and want to integrate into their own and loved one’s funerals. With pre-planning comes an added expectation of utilizing technology during the planning process.
Millennials utilize technology in their everyday lives, and are apt to feel that death should be no difference. They want to access online catalogs to compare styles and prices, and expect to understand all options before spending the thousands of dollars that funerals often cost. They also want to be able to plan a funeral in one fail swoop on a website, rather than having to bounce back and forth between sites. The consolidation of information into one easily-accessible site offers security and convenience that are highly valued among this generation. With this push to utilize technology, millennials also expect to be able to access online pricing. Easily accessible pricing transparency can determine a funeral home’s success above nearly anything else. If funeral homes want business from the millennial generation, they must be willing to utilize technology and online pricing transparency.
Funeral homes also must be willing to adapt to the changes in millennials’ views on death and its implications. Gone are the days of morose gatherings around a graveside on a rainy day. Millennials are opting to change even the terminology they use regarding funerals and death. The generation is replacing “funeral” with “celebration of life” and “wake” with “gathering of family and friends” to illustrate just some instances. These changes in verbiage may be subtle, but they make a sizable difference in acknowledging the values that millennials may have. The reciprocation of terminology can affect how willing a millennial is to choose and trust a specific funeral home during the planning process.
Millennials won’t just plan funerals differently than previous generations, they will also execute them differently. As millennials often have less value for tradition, they often place higher value on eco-awareness, experiences, and people. This alone changes the face of funerals drastically. More people are choosing greener options of cremation and other variations on traditional burial, and this is projected to only grow with millennials taking the driver seat. The eco-conscious generation is more willing to defy traditional norms in order to do what they feel is best for the environment, which applies even to end-of-life care.
Millennials are also more willing to defy traditional norms during the execution of the funeral itself. With the value being placed on experience and people, the funeral scene will change altogether. Millennials aren’t expected to hold funerals in churches anymore—most of them are claiming to not have secular religious affiliations. Instead they are more likely to hold funerals in parks, homes, or places of value to the deceased person. They also are bagging the idea that a funeral is for mourning and replacing it with the idea that a funeral is for celebrating the loved one’s life. Millennials are more likely to have a party-like celebration with pictures, music, and liquor, than to have a religious service. Funeral homes are going to need to start the process of obtaining a liquor-license, or else they will undoubtedly lose potential clients. Funerals are no longer going to be funerals, but instead be events. Some homes have hired event coordinators to adapt to this new style.
Millennials are changing the face of the world and the funeral industry is no exception to this trend. The generation is implementing many value-changes and the industry will need to keep up with these changes. Millennials are preplanners, they want to go into end-of-life planning knowing exactly what their options are and how they are going to move forward with the planning process. They also expect to use technology during this planning process and want online pricing transparency. Millennials are pushing for a change in verbiage; they aren’t interested in promoting sobering and somber events. This also brings about a change in the funeral itself—it is no longer a funeral, but now an event, and millennials expect that it be held and run as such. Though these changes can seem intimidating, they are the future of the funeral industry and should be regarded with eager anticipation and preparation.