As things seem to do in my life, circumstances came together this week to have me reflect on changes in the Death Care profession/industry.  First of all, here’s three items that came together to make me think about changes in our businesses.

1. I attended the funeral of a long-time member of my Bible Study.
2. I researched and produced an article that appeared in Tuesday’s Funeral Director Daily about the Hollywood Forever Cemetery and their “Premium Product” offerings.  You can access that article here.
3. I recalled and then revisited the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) recent press release about Americans choosing cremation at record rates.  You can access that article here.

What it all got me to wondering is if the American consumer is in the midst of, or will soon be “Selecting Death Care” by their “Memorialization” choice rather than their “Service” (such as cremation, burial, church service, etc) choice.

Here’s part of my thought process  —  for almost all of my career as a funeral director, consumers at-need or pre-need would come into the funeral home and tell us of their Death Care ideas.  If that choice included the use of a cemetery, such as in earth burial, entombment, or urn placement, they usually asked us about our thoughts on the different cemeteries.

In that format I would suggest that the consumer “selected” Death Care via the funeral home provider they chose.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

However, in today’s world, especially when a cemetery like Hollywood Forever offers “free cremation” to those who purchase “premium” cemetery memorialization I think a different process may be in place.  In cases like that, the cremation, or direct cremation,  seems to me to simply be a “means to the end” and the consumer is not concerned about who handles the physical means of turning the dead human body into the cremated remains.  They are more concerned about their purchase for “Memorialization”.

In this situation I would suggest that the consumer “selected” Death Care via the memorialization provider they chose.

This thought further deepened in my mind at the funeral of my friend.  While he was buried with a traditional service through my old funeral home I found myself at the reception luncheon visiting with another local couple about who happened to be about my age. As any retired funeral director knows, sitting in this position we become open game for all kinds of Death Care questions.

Well, this couple let me know that they are going to be cremated but more importantly, and what is most on their mind, is where they will be permanently memorialized.  As I listened, it dawned on me that their main concern is not about their funeral, the service, or who will cremate them, but where will they be permanently memorialized.  And, for one like me who believes in “permanent memorialization” I don’t think that is an uncommon thought.

So, getting back to Hollywood Forever’s offer of “Free Cremations”. . . . . my guess is if this couple bought a “premium” niche or columbarium from someone who offered “Free Cremation” with that purchase, they very well would take them up on that offer.  My guess is that with this couple, and many others, if the permanent Memorialization purchase is what they want, they would be happy to accept the “Free Cremation” and, if they wanted a memorial service, would do so at their church without a funeral home participating.

Finally, in looking at the aforementioned NFDA press release it predicts by 2045 an 82.3% cremation rate as opposed to today’s 63.4% rate.  It predicts a burial rate of only 13.0% in that same year as compared to today’s 31.6%.  Probably even more ominous in today’s “Service” selection vs. “Memorial” selection article it shows that the “Religiously Unaffiliated” has almost doubled in recent years with no signs of that stopping.

And, if we are not affiliated with a church or somewhere else with a history of “Services” will “Services” be less common and the idea of picking one’s Death Care providers by the who or where they pick their Memorialization option be more common?

I don’t have that answer but I think it is a situation that needs looking into.  While funeral homes have always been “Businesses” they have not always been “Consumer” friendly or “subtly aggressive” in customer acquisition. . . . . many times simply sitting back and making an income out of the consumer’s necessity when the time arrived.

In a world of new “Customer Acquisition” techniques by others in the greater Death Care world are funeral homes vulnerable to be left behind, or not even thought of, in some consumer choice instances?

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Americans Embrace Digital Funeral Planning While Still Seeking Professional Guidance, New NFDA Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study Reveals 

Brookfield, Wis. – The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, has released its 2025 Consumer Awareness & Preferences Study, revealing significant shifts in how Americans approach death and funeral planning. The comprehensive research shows consumers are increasingly embracing digital solutions while simultaneously demonstrating growing reliance on funeral directors’ expertise. 

The research continues NFDA’s ongoing effort since 2012 to track evolving consumer attitudes and help funeral service professionals better serve families. 

Key findings include: 

● Digital adoption surges: Nearly 30% of families now complete all funeral arrangements online, while 40% of consumers have used the services of a funeral home they found on Facebook—nearly doubling from 21% in 2023. 

● Professional expertise increasingly valued: 44.4% would feel not very confident or not at all confident planning a funeral without a funeral director’s help—up 7.1% since 2024, despite growing digital adoption. Additionally, of those consumers who planned a funeral online, nearly 48% still needed the assistance of a funeral director and more than 15% felt the online planning process was either impersonal and lacked the level of compassionate service they would have received had they planned with a funeral director. 

● Religion remains central: 75.7% consider religious components very important or somewhat important in funeral services, while nearly 64% would arrange livestreaming for distant relatives. 

● Green options gain appeal: More than 61.4% of consumers are interested in exploring “green” funeral and natural burial options. 

● Economic pressures shape choices: 55.4% of respondents earned less than $50,000 annually, compared to 38.5% in 2024, influencing demand for value.

● Pre-planning preferences evolve: While 19.4% have pre-planned and prepaid for arrangements, primarily to guarantee prices and relieve survivors of financial burden, 31.8% prefer a hybrid approach combining online planning with direct funeral director consultation. 

“This research demonstrates that while technology is transforming how families access funeral services, the fundamental value of professional guidance remains irreplaceable,” said Dutch Nie, NFDA Immediate Past-President and Nie Family Funeral Home & Cremation Services owner, CEO/President and funeral director . “Funeral directors are successfully adapting to digital expectations while maintaining their essential role as trusted advisors during families’ most difficult times.” 

The study also reveals that consumers increasingly view funeral directors as valuable experts, with growing recognition of their professional expertise in navigating complex arrangements and providing essential support during grief. 

About the Study 

The 2025 NFDA Consumer Awareness & Preferences Study continues NFDA’s ongoing research tracking consumer attitudes since 2012. The study is designed to help funeral service professionals better understand and serve evolving family needs while maintaining the highest standards of care and professionalism. Conducted in the spring of 2025, 1,126 Americans age 40 and older were surveyed. 

About NFDA 

NFDA is the world’s leading and largest funeral service association, serving 20,000 individual members who represent nearly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 49 countries around the world. NFDA is the trusted leader, beacon for ethics and the strongest advocate for the profession. NFDA is the association of choice because it offers funeral professionals comprehensive educational resources, tools to manage successful businesses, guidance to become pillars in their communities and the expertise to foster future generations of funeral professionals. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, Wis., and has an office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit NFDA.org. 

On Tuesday morning I had to alter my running schedule because of rain showers.  So, I took to our indoor treadmill to get my daily exercise and had a nice run while watching the Fox Business Stuart Varney morning show.

One of the short business news stories that came on was that they believed you would see McDonald’s stock “pop” a little on Tuesday because they were introducing meal items and pricing to draw the low-budget consumer in for “Back-to-School” meals.  The hosts of the program also made a point to let viewers know that McDonald’s marketing to the “low-budget” clientele was very different from most products that seem to market to the more affluent audience with more disposable incomes.

I had also just read an article that morning about a potential decline of white collar workers and a potential gain of blue collar workers in the U.S.  because of the expected reshoring of American manufacturing jobs and the expected increase of artificial intelligence in white-collar business use.  That combination made me wonder about the traditional (casketed burial) markets that over the years have been overtaken by cremation choices by consumers.

I grew up in a small community in rural America and remember my father’s words when a new owner took ownership of the other funeral home in town.  That owner seemed to be in the newspaper all the time and was quick to become an active member of the Chamber of Commerce.  My dad made the comment to me at the time when I was in middle school and I still remember it to this day, “Let him wine and dine those people all he wants.  We will be happy taking care of the farmers and blue collar workers and there is a lot more of them”.

Now, my dad was an “old shoe” if there ever was one.  He would not know what a “Cesare Attolini brand” suit was, much less ever wear one.  He once told me that he drove an old American Motors Rambler car because “it was all he needed”.  Yet, he took care of any family that called our funeral home with incredible care, compassion, and credit — and most of our clients were the farm families and the blue-collar worker families that sometimes needed all of those attributes.

My dad’s 1966 “Basic White” four-door American Motors Rambler

I took his quotes and actions to heart and have always believed that “Farm families and blue-collar workers” were the backbone of traditional funeral service.  Of course, in our community they were also the back-bone of the churches and school boards . . . . . . and they believed in the traditions and mores of traditional funeral services.

Here’s an interesting graphic (below) that shows the manufacturing losses in America since what I would call the “Globalization of Manufacturing”.  Maybe it is just coincidental, but the dates of loss of these blue-collar workers somewhat corresponds with the percentage increases in cremation related services in America.

This next graphic (below) shows that America’s Middle Income (Blue-Collar) people have dropped from having an aggregate of 62% of the income in 1970 to only 43% of the income today.  And, as you can see Upper Income Americans now control about 48% of all income — up from about 29% in 1970.  And, the Lower Income tier has stayed relatively stable over the past 50 years.

So, my historic take is, the backbone of traditional funeral service was making, in relative terms, less money while the cost of traditional funeral services was going up.  It should be no surprise that low-cost cremation demand also went up over those years.  I don’t think it should come as any surprise that one traditional funeral home company that has catered to the “cost-conscious” traditional funeral consumer over the years, Newcomer Funeral Group, has seemingly done very well by doing so.

I was also moved during this exercise to find out what do companies appeal to when they “chase the affluent consumer” audience?  I found this short article and lengthier white-paper from Mastercard titled “Reaching new heights:  Understanding the nuances and potential of affluent consumers in a changing market”.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

I didn’t read the white-paper but did notice one of the nuances of affluent consumers is that  the affluent consumer likes “new and innovative products”.  The article goes on to state “This influential audience presents unparalleled opportunities for brands ready to adapt and innovate.”

When I go back in history and look at the rise in cremation I would argue that cremation in America was “innovative” in the 1960’s and 1970’s which may be one reason it was adopted by the affluent early on and that the relative financial strength loss of the middle income in the years following (coupled with the increased prices of traditional funerals) both had something to do with the increased level of cremation over the past 4-5 decades.

While many traditional funeral homes fought cremation, there were some really innovative firms that saw the “cremation innovation” and went full-scale into the process.  Many even changed their brand by taking out the words “funeral home” and inserting “cremation”.  Over time, some of the firms that saw the wave and re-branded are some of the largest volume firms in the country today.

Thinking about the future —  If these hypotheses are in any way somewhat correct one would suggest that a company with an innovative Death Care product, such as alkaline hydroysis or natural organic reduction should be looking for the “early adopters” among the affluent members of society.

With Mastercard’s theory that the affluent “like innovation” one would suggest that innovative Death Care companies, and this would include after-market cremation products like Better Place Forests and Parting Stone, would find the most success in affluent zip-code areas.

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Funeral Director Daily tries to provide some type of coverage for everybody.  This month’s Top 5 most read articles seem to give credence to that effort.  Our readers chose articles that deal with a diversity of topics — from bankruptcy to consumer groups suggestions to selling your funeral home.

We also bring articles that deal with the growing realization that technology is becoming a bigger and bigger topic among funeral homes and their clientele.  Here are the Top 5 read articles from June 15 through July 15:

1. Catholic Diocese of Fresno, California files for bankruptcy. . .says cemeteries and preneed will not be affected.
2. Consumer group calls for “cutting out the funeral director as “middleman” on direct cremations.
3. So, you’re selling your funeral home . . . . .and moving into retirement.
4. Memoria aims to be the “technology disrupter” of Death Care.
5. Acquisitions, equity funding, new funeral homes . . .The nexus between technology and traditional continues

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We noticed in this article last week that a consumer group has asked for the removal of funeral directors as “the middleman in cremations, saying it’s costing people money”.  Among other things, the group says “it gives them (funeral directors) the opportunity to “hook people into a package deal” charging grieving families for things they did not need”.

This discussion is taking place in New Zealand where 80% of the deaths are cremations and funeral directors are required to facilitate a “sign-off” for the cremation approval by a second doctor after a physician has already made the notes about the cause of death.

It appears, from what I read, that funeral directors then charge a service fee for this task and the process allows them to get in front of families who don’t necessarily want to be sold or educated about additional services available.

The consumer group is asking for a system in which the current online death documents system could solve this problem by uploading the first doctor’s information into the cloud from which the second doctor could access the information and sign the cremation authorization without the need of a funeral director.  According to the linked article a recent health system report stated:

“. . . .the current process and regulations impose high costs on the public and create a barrier for people who want to organise their own funerals, particularly when their loved ones are about to be cremated.  It encouraged the ministry to prioritise further work on updating the cremation regulations, and requested a report on the planned changes to regulations before the end of this parliamentary term.  We also encourage the ministry to consider making all documents relating to cremation available on the Death Documents website. We note that the Ministry’s planned work could address the current barriers to DIY funerals.”

As can be expected, the New Zealand Funeral Director’s Association refuted the consumer groups thesis that it was this activity that produced high costs of services in New Zealand.  Part of their answer came in this article from RNZ titled “Changing paperwork is not going to fix funeral debt”:  Association slams call to remove funeral directos as cremation middlemen“.

Related Article ––  High cost of dying under scrutiny as Members of Parliament call for change.  The Spinoff (New Zealand)

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  While this argument is taking place in a country with less than 40,000 deaths annually I think the repercussions may be heard in more populated places as time moves forward.

I was priviliged to see just how large a metropolitan funeral and cremation company can be in May when I had the privilige to tour a “Care Center” of a large American death care consolidator.  I was somewhat blown away by the facility and volume of the operations in this care center located in a suburb of a large American city.

The brand new facility looked like a modern office building from the outside, but inside housed three crematory retorts, a preparation room, a refrigerated room with a capacity of probably over 300 bodies, and an inside the building drive-thru transportation hub for hearses and vans to load and unload human remains.  It also housed a reception viewing area for a family that might wish to identify and see their loved one loaded into the crematory.  And, the complete facility was absolutely immaculate.

My tour guide let me know that this care center handles about 7,000 cremation cases a year for their locations in this metropolitan area.  I saw what I would guess was about 75 cardboad box encased bodies ready for cremation in the cooler area.  One side of the cooler area had containers with “Red stickers” on the boxes and the other side had containers with “Green stickers” on the boxes.

I learned that the “Red sticker” boxes did not yet have authorizations complete for cremation while the “Green sticker” boxes had completed authorizations and were ready to be placed in the crematories.  I also learned that there were two full-time staff members that did nothing but make sure authorizations were complete.

In all, it was an impressive operation.

Some interesting thoughts that I had —  There was at least one licensed funeral director on site as well as other technicians.  However, in a state where removal transportation specialists are allowed and the cremations are allowed to be arranged online, is it possible that a family member would never have to have a discussion with a funeral director? . . And, it may be by their choice that the family has that option.

I found that an interesting question.  Some families would probably want to have that conversation and arrange some type of memorial and/or memorialization but there might also be some families that, as suggested in the New Zealand situation, may simply want a “Do it yourself” service or no service at all and be content with not talking with a funeral director.

I’m still working on my “Attitude adjustment” —  I did my work in a funeral home that served “one family at a time”.  And that is the way it was some weeks — we might only serve one family in a slow week.  So, to see the volume of deceased human beings in this facility was “eye-opening” to me.

This consolidator, as it appeared to me, was also serving “one family at a time”.  The only difference with my funeral business was I, on average served about one family at a time per day. . . . .and this company, through this facility, was serving one family at a time every 75 minutes.

They were, however, and as far as I could see doing it like I did — with dignity and respect and, most importantly,  the way the family had asked for it to be done.

It made me realize that the way families are choosing and going-thru the Death Care operation and cycle today is very different than from when I first started.

It also made me think — will we become like New Zealand where it seems that some consumers would prefer to be “slightly distant” and not interact with funeral directors?

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

The middle of the month has crept up on us again. . . and in Minnesota we are finally getting around to golf season.  On about the 15th of each month Funeral Director Daily highlights our top read articles of the past thirty days and we have some great ones for you. . ..

. . . . these articles cover trends, transformations, private equity, and consumer choices and by reading the articles you will be gaining valuable knowledge that might pay off for you own funeral home.  With no further introduction here are the Top 5 read articles on Funeral Director Daily since April 15.

1. SCI’s “Non-funeral home” revenue is growing fast. . . .  What can we learn?
2. The transformation of Batesville
3. The Segmented Purchase Consumer:  Are funeral homes ready?
4. Private Equity makes investment in Alkaline Hydrolysis
5. The Cremation Aftermarket:  Here’s a great idea to spur interest and sales.  

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I was always told that you have to “Learn before you Earn” and now I’m told, and I believe, that “Learning is a lifetime endeavor” —  meaning that you never stop learning.

So, if you believe like me, you can take a look at the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) and WilbertEDU calendars and notice some very good opportunities for learning coming up.  There are four webinars coming up in May that I do not want to miss  — 2 sponsored by NFDA and 2 sponsored by our friends at Wilbert through their WilbertEDU service to funeral directors.

As you are probably aware of, Wilbert offers a free CEU service to the funeral profession through their WilbertEDU series.  You can get a plethora of CEU credits by taking part in their every other week CEU funeral profession webinars.  They have already presented one seminar in May but have two more on the schedule.

You may find the two yet to be presented May webinars excellent for business knowledge in the areas of customer acquisition and consumer attitudes about memorialization.  The two May seminars scheduled are:

May 15 — “A snapshot into your consumer:  Attitudes and Behaviors that define your future business model” .

May 29 — “The case for proactive preneed:  Attract new families, grow call volume, and build lasting value”.  

To learn more about each webinar and to register for either of these WilbertEDU webinars click here.

One webinar from NFDA will be on legal issues affecting funeral service and presented by NFDA’s General Counsel Chris Farmer.  That webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 21, and is free to all NFDA members with a slight charge for non-members.  It does carry with it one CEU credit through most state associations.

To learn more and/or sign up for the seminar titled “Top legal issues for funeral homes in 2025” click here.

A second webinar from NFDA that I saw coming up is also very timeley.  It appears that the advent of increased activity in the acquisition market is now here and whether you are interested in buying or selling this one hour seminar titled “Is it time to Buy or Sell:  How to Determine your Succession Plan” should give you some pointers.

This webinar is presented by Johnson Consulting Group CEO Jake Johnson and while no CEU credits are offered it is free of charge and of timely substance for the profession and probably your own situation.

The webinar is scheduled to be presented on Wednesday, May 14, and you can register and/or learn more by clicking here.

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There has been a lot of research in the past couple of years about who the “Consumers of Funerals” are.  There’s been a lot of great data published —  some of which is good news for Death Care and some not so good news for Death Care.

I’ve also suggested that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) not publish a new “Funeral Rule” until they look at and get a very good idea of how the consumer purchases “Death Care” in today’s world.

Things change over time and in my interactions with consumers and Death Care professionals I see a trend of how people purchase Death Care that has changed since I worked every day in the business.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

When it is broke down, I’ve always seen Death Care purchased in the following fashion.  The purchase of Disposition, the purchase of Celebration, and the purchase of Memorialization.  Typically the consumer choice was burial, church service, cemetery in that order for Disposition, Celebration, and Memorialization. . . . . and, all three were, most of the time, purchased and arranged during one post-death arrangement at a traditional funeral home.

Because of how it was all done at the funeral home few of us recognized the distinct purchases of Disposition, Celebration, and Memorialization.  In today’s world, the segmentation is easily seen.

I clearly see the Death Care tri-metric purchase choices of Disposition, Celebration, and Memorialization being done by consumers at this point in time.  Many times in today’s Death Care purchase not all of those purchases are even consummated.  . .and even if they are, sometimes they are not all done by the traditional funeral home.

Matter of fact, a consumer can go through the thought process and complete the purchases they choose without ever using a traditional funeral home.  As is happening a lot in today’s world, Disposition may be carried out by an online cremation company and the consumer may forego Celebration and Memorialization or use non-funeral home providers for those services.

I also don’t think it is too different than other parts of our daily lives that have became segmented.  For many consumers, the daily newspaper has dropped off of its perch and people get their news from “segmented” places — most of the time online.  And, cable television is fast falling out of favor and being replaced by a consumer’s choice of “segmented” streaming options.

A lot of this change has been driven by the fact that the necessary information for purchasing is easily available at our fingertips by simply typing on a keyboard.  It used to be that you “needed” to go to the funeral home to learn about pricing and options.  That’s not so anymore.

Today, even with large dollar amount purchases consumers are comfortable purchasing online.  About 3% of automobiles are purchased completely online with about 23% ordered online with some follow-up contact at the dealership. . . The U.S. Chamber of Commerce states that 43% of people prefer to shop mostly online.

The Point —  There always has to be a Disposition (of the body) while Celebrations and Memorializations are optional purchases.  And, I believe that as we move forward there will be more niche operators chasing the Death Care business. . . . Niche operators like venues, funeral planners, outside the funeral home financial preneed planners, and Disposition operators like those operating with online crematories, alkaline hydrolysis, and natural organic reduction.

I’m expecting all of these niche businesses to have some type of online presence putting their best face forward to potential Death Care consumers. . . . and they will do that at a price point that may be less than traditional bricks and mortar operators can charge.

It’s my opinion that the “Customer Journey” to purchase Death Care segments will become, especially for the awareness or informational stage, more and more internet centric with all three phases of the Death Care purchase.

As these niche operators come more and more into the market are you ready for this competition and do you have a plan to acquire “Death Care consumers” to use your services rather than someone elses?

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“A servant’s attitude guided by Christ leads to a significant life”

Last Monday China shook the financial markets by unveiling that their Aritificial Intelligence capabilities from a company called “DeepSeek” seemed to be further along in developing AI than American counterparts such as Nvidia. . . and doing so with a less expensive model.  That moved the financial markets among AI developers such as Nvidia down, but also moved the markets where consumers might benefit up. . . .  In essence, in one article I read, the author “reasoned” that the companies most closely aligned with end consumers, such as Salesforce, would benefit from better and less expensive AI capabilities.

On my run Tuesday morning I started thinking “How does that thought process relate to Death Care”?

I concluded that it was pretty simple — whether it is about AI or Death Care.  The company that has the closest “relationship” to the consumer will win the business. . . . . And, for years local traditional funeral homes with their community assets of advice, buildings, staff, and history have had those “close” relationships with consumers.

However, I think that is changing and is something to be aware of.  Veterinarians are generally well thought of, give advice, have buildings, staff, and history in a community — yet their market share of selling dog food has almost been cut in half from 2019 to 2023.  According to statistics I found, veterinarians sold dog food to 8% of canine owners in 2019 and only 4 years later that number is down to 5%.

Where have those sales gone?  Some have probably went to grocery stores (General Mills made a big acquisition allowing them to put Blue Buffalo dog food in grocery stores) or general retail stores such as Target and WalMart.  However, the statistics also show that from 2019 to 2024 online sales of dog food have increased from 25.1% to 32.5%.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Why?  Convenience including delivery to your front door is one reason.  However, I believe the relationship that one develops by continuously getting e-mail information from a supplier is another.  You have seen it with other products too — once you express affinity to a product or service you receive many reminders of such via e-mail or other social media. . . . . and, over time that information can sway a consumer to try the product.

I think we are now starting to see that in Death Care.  There is no doubt that we see it with online cremation providers and we are seeing it in online merchandise providers such as Titan Casket as well.  From all indications Titan Casket continues to grow and expand its product line and, from my point of view, if Titan Casket can build online relationships for sales other Death Care providers will not be far behind — that would include alkaline hydrolysis vendors, natural organic reduction vendors, venue providers, and non-funeral event planners in addition to the online cremation providers we already see.

I also think that there is a parallel in the Nvidia/Saleforce situation and the Death Care situation between Death Care facilities and the online vendors who may use crematories and other facilities as professional vendors.  Over time, the company that “controls” the consumer’s mind will probably dictate the facility(ies) that are used for the consumers choices of Death Care.

If I still owned a physical funeral home I would consider that an advantage but, I would also be cognizant that every day online providers of different services of Death Care are trying to become the “Top of Mind” choice of my potential clients.  When it was just a new facility (funeral home) being built in your community that was easy to watch.

Today however, as our potential consumers are being wooed by online companies, that is not so easy to do.  Traditional funeral homes, in my opinion, need to be “in the game” of wooing online consumers also or risk going the way of selling less products in the future like the veterinarians that I mentioned.

If you are interested in strengthening your online presence with potential consumers, one person who can help is Welton Hong of RingRing Marketing.  You can learn more about him here.

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This article started out as a “Pricing” article and was going to be about how do funeral businesses raise their prices for the new year in a world where inflation on consumer’s everyday purchases has continued to stay elevated?

I was wondering because economic indicators from last Friday showed a gain in American jobs but also a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.2%. . . and, anecdotally, major employers headquartered in my area, Cargill and Toro, announced thousands of job layoffs around the world.  I looked at those data points and wondered if I could see a trend developing.

So,  I went searching for information that would confirm to me that the consumer was in a tighter position than, let’s say, a year ago.  What I found was interesting, and probably acknowledges that the consumer, at least on the average, may be in a better position.

Here’s what the Federal Reserve Bank of  New York says as to the American consumer’s position at the end of the 3rd Quarter of 2024 per this article:

“Total household debt increased by $147 billion to reach $17.94 trillion, according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. Aggregate delinquency rates edged up from the previous quarter, with 3.5 percent of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency. Mortgage balances rose by $75 billion from the previous quarter to reach $12.59 trillion at the end of September. . . . . Credit card balances increased by $24 billion to hit $1.17 trillion, and auto loan balances saw an $18 billion increase and stood at $1.64 trillion. HELOC (Home Equity Loans) balances increased by $7 billion to reach $387 billion, representing the tenth consecutive quarterly increase since Q1 2022.”

So, that paints a not-so-pretty picture of family or consumer debt in America.  However, in a related article from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that you can read here, they point out a positive attribute of where the American consumer is also:

“The aggregate debt balance has continued to climb since the pandemic, reaching $17.94 trillion in the third quarter of 2024. However, during this same time, Americans’ disposable personal income has grown as well, reaching a value of $21.80 trillion. Now, the ratio of total debt balance to income is 82 percent, just below the pre-pandemic level of 86 percent in 2019. Relative to income, balances are actually lower than they were before the pandemic.” (Emphasis by Funeral Director Daily)

Here’s a chart of Consumer Debt to Income from 2000 through today:

As you can see, debt has risen dramatically, but not as a percentage of personal income.  I’m pretty certain that your consumer clientele will range away from these average statistics to a range of consumers who, on one end of the spectrum, have no problem paying for funerals all the way to a group of less fortunate clientele that have no ready cash or credit available to them at the time of a death in the family on the other end of the spectrum.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Doing this exercise and finding these credit statistics also pointed out to me that like politics, the funeral business is truly a “local business”.  Your clientele, and probably their ability to pay, probably has some correlation to where your funeral home is located.

For instance, an inner city funeral home may find lots of issues with credit and finance in contrast to a wealthy suburb funeral home where you would expect little problem with that issue.  And, if you are in a rural or regional center city like I am, you always have to be prepared for client families on both extreme ends of the spectrum. . . . . And my guess, is that if you have lived in your community for any length of time, then you know who your clients are and the situations that you will probably face with service payments.

To that point on contrasting situations, here is a quote from the 2nd linked article above on some of those differences and trends:

“(the) divergence of debt-to-income measures based on the type of household debt and the heterogeneous characteristics of borrowers might shed light on the economic situations faced by different groups of people in the U.S., particularly when paired with differential movements in delinquency rates. The recent downward movement in the ratio of debt to income has been followed by an apparent moderating of delinquency rates for auto loans and credit cards during the third quarter, and if that trend continues, it would suggest that rising debt burdens remain manageable.”

I guess we will talk about pricing of services another day. . . . .I somewhat got carried away with the statistics I found while investigating the position of the American consumer in today’s world. . . . But, as I’ve always found out, you learn something from the investigation.

Related Article — US economy adds 227,000 jobs in November, unemployment rate rises to 4.2% as labor market rebounds.  Yahoo Finance

Related Article — Inflation remains sticky, with (November 2024) CPI rising 2.7% from a year ago.  Yahoo Finance  (Editor’s Note:  Here’s a quote from this article which was published yesterday:  “Since May 2023, wages have been rising faster than inflation, which is the main reason why persistently higher inflation has not slowed overall consumer spending.”

Related Note —  According to this graph below, wage growth remains higher than inflation.  That is something to think about when looking at your next round of employee compensation decisions.  It’s also interesting to note that it appears wage growth may  continue to remain higher than inflation growth for the immediate future.   If that is true (continued wage growth) in the funeral home business world then funeral homes may find it difficult to maintain current staffing in a Death Care world where it is a challenge to maintain revenue per case levels as the growth of cremation and direct cremation continues.

Year-over Year growth by month (2020 to October 2024). Wage Growth = Blue Line. Inflation Growh = Black Line.

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