Say the word “millennial” to anyone over the age of 40 and watch as a look of disgust falls over their face. Selfish, lazy and unproductive are just some of the words used to describe those who were born between 1980 and 2000.
This, however, might not be exactly accurate. Millennials are transforming the world we live in. Now more than ever impact is being created, dreams are being pursued and the world of business is changing. Including the death care sector.
New trends are forming
It is estimated that millennials will make up about 70% of the workforce by 2025, and many of them are working in the funeral industry already. In fact, this connected and always-online generation could change the death sector dramatically.
There is a trend for “death positivity” as some funeral directors, from this generation, seeking ways to help people take a more active role in the processes that surround death.
Some of the ideas include encouraging clients to witness the process of cremation, giving people more opportunities to care for the body of a loved one, and promoting eco-friendly burials, new types of cremation urns for ashes and keepsakes.
The cremation urn and its role in the world of millennials.
There is also a visible conflict in the rising cremation rate paired with de-churching trends and millennials might be the reason.
Cremation urns for ashes are not historically exclusive to only one religion. The earliest cremation urns and memorials date back to 6500. Recent history, though, ties the funeral urns closely with death care rituals, which feel religious even if the object itself is not connected to a certain belief.
In the next 25 years, we could see the use of traditional conus-shaped cremation urns sharply drop. If cremation urns sales do start to go down, it is unlikely that the money spent on them will simply disappear into the breeze with the ashes of your loved one. More than 15,000 years of history has confidently proven we want to keep cremains close to us. Instead, we might see a change in consumer spending in the death care marketplace from the traditional-looking urn to religiously neutral cremation urns, art urns for ashes, even cremation keepsakes and biodegradable urns.
Do not forget pet cremations are one the rise too.
Not just the funeral professionals
Millennial consumers are becoming more influential even before they reach an age at which they themselves will need funeral services.They are also less traditional and religious than previous generations.
We will for sure see many shifts in the behaviour over the next several years, including:
- Advanced planning will be a priority – Millennials are informed enough to realise that planning is a good investment.
- Personalisation will be on focus. Millennials tend to do things their own way, and funerals & cremation make no exclusion. This generation expects unique customisation options for funeral products such as nontraditional urns for ashes and even urn engravements.
- Funeral homes will have to become more technologically advanced - Millennials want to be able to comparison-shop online, which means funeral homes with websites rich on content that include pricing options will be far more successful.
- Emphasising on eco-friendly options - This generation is interested in options that previous generations may not even know exist. Did you know with its rise, cremation might surpass funerals by 2035? Cremation is proven to be more eco-friendly than burials and it becomes a preferred choice for millennials. More and more of them are willing to keep the ashes of a loved one in an nontraditional cremation urn for ashes or a keepsake.
No matter what your generation is, preplanning helps you ensure that your cremation urn for ashes is whatever you want it to be – truly unique.
At Pulvis Art Urns, we have been producing quality handmade cremation urns for ashes, which are the preferred choice for many years.
Visit our page and find all of our products or email us at art@pulvisurns.com for more information.
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