Recent research by Cooperative Funeral Care shows how far we've come...and how far we still have to go

1. Funerals really are changing a LOT
The UK’s largest Funeral Director, The Co-operative
Funeralcare, has produced the first in a series of funeral
trends reports and it shows very clearly that funerals
are changing fast but that there is still plenty of scope
for Funeral Directors to promote personalised services.
The report shows statistics both from members of the
public and from its Funeral Directors. Locations,
hearses, dress codes, technology, caskets, wakes but
above all personalisation are the themes of the report
and it has to be said that the Co-op’s Funeral Directors
are willing to go to considerable lengths to satisfy the
wishes of their customers. 38% had arranged
alternative hearses and although most of these were
horse-drawn, they also included motorcycles, work-
related vehicles, even a tandem. Nearly half of FDs had
been asked to arrange funerals outside the traditional
religious venue and had organised funerals at home
(33%), in the deceased’s garden (11%) along with other
locations such as parks, beauty spots and sports venues.
Caskets and coffins are increasingly non-traditional with
people asking for bamboo, wicker, cardboard and
picture coffins. Sombre, quiet wakes are being
overtaken by often riotous parties with Funeral
Directors finding themselves in the role of party
planner, now that the public regard funerals as a
celebration of life as much as a sad occasion.
However innovative and creative the Funeral Directors
are, however, there is a disconnect in the way that the
consumer perceives funerals. Shockingly, just over half
(51%) of those surveyed didn’t know that funerals could
take place outside of a religious setting, possibly
because three-quarters of them had never attended
any other kind of funeral. Looking at what consumers
think makes a nice funeral and what kind of funeral
they are actually experiencing it is clear that there is still
quite a way to go.
For the full report, click here: The Ways We Say
Goodbye
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