As funeral directors in the constantly changing funeral profession, it’s important to be lifelong learners. We want to help you stay informed on both current and future funeral trends that may gain popularity.

Below are a few major trends we’ve been hearing and seeing in the news and how your funeral home can prepare.

Rise in Cremation

This is an obvious one that you’ve probably heard many times before, but has your funeral home taken any action? First, it’s important to understand why there’s a shift from burial to cremation. People may choose cremation for a variety of reasons, whether it’s religious beliefs, desire to be more environmentally friendly, their financial situation, or other personal reasons.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should just go out and invest in the cremation equipment and products right now. You should do some research in your community, and if you find that more families are requesting cremation, it may be time to invest in it.

Personalized Funerals

Another major funeral trend is creating personalized funeral experiences. Families want their loved one’s funeral to reflect their individuality and showcase their interests and passions. In fact, some families even have pet funerals to honor their pet who was more like a member of the family. By getting to know a family’s loved one on a deeper level through storytelling, you can find creative, meaningful ways to honor their memory.

You can start the funeral personalization conversation by asking these questions. Don’t wait for them to bring it up. They might not know what they can do or may feel overwhelmed. By covering funeral personalization during the funeral planning, you can give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and wishes.

More Technology

This trend shouldn’t come as a surprise either. Funerals are becoming more high-tech as we know it. For example, instead of just having memorial display boards with photos, families play videos showcasing their loved one’s life. By using our all-in-one personalization suite Tribute Center, your funeral home can create one-of-a-kind Tribute Videos with family photos, music, and high-quality special effects to honor a family’s loved one.

Other Burial Alternatives

Cremation isn’t the only alternative the burial that’s stirring up the funeral profession. More people are choosing green burial options to lessen their environmental footprint. And this desire to protect the environment also brings about another cremation alternative: aquamation.

Also known as alkaline hydrolysis, liquid cremation, and several other names, this process uses water and an alkaline solution to break down the body in a way that makes less of a negative impact on the environment. Although this isn’t legal everywhere yet, we’re seeing more and more funeral homes add this service to their facility.

Other Future Funeral Trends

Along with environmentally friendly burial alternatives, there are many other funeral trends on the rise. One example is the use of 3D printing in the funeral profession. Not only can 3D printing technology create beautiful memorial products and urns, but it can be used for facial reconstruction. A funeral home is China is already doing this so families can have a more positive final viewing of their loved one. Who knows, maybe using 3D printing technology will become a norm in the funeral profession one day.

How Your Funeral Home Can Prepare

It’s impossible to know exactly what the funeral profession will look like in five, 10, or even 15 years from now. So don’t feel like your facility has to embrace all these trends at once. Take the time to access the situation and what’s best for your funeral home. By staying educated and being open to change, you can make sure your funeral home stays successful in the future!

Want to learn more about future funeral trends? Download our free Future Funeral Trends eBook!