A few months ago I attended a funeral association conference in the mid-west. Surrounded by well-dressed gentleman (men. yes men, almost all men) hawking coffins, sharing tips on administering chemical and embalming fluids, and one-upping each other with “you wouldn’t believe it” stories (remind me to tell you the one about the deceased’s skin slipping off while using a body scoop), I considered the very real possibility that I’d been touched by insanity.

The Body Scoop

The reality is, the funeral industry — once thought completely recession proof — is facing a once-in-a-century shift in business dynamics. In 2015, cremations surpassed burial in the US for the first time ever, and is trending north of 70% by 2030. For most funeral homes, that means 30% margin erosion, as the cost of a burial averages $7,000 — $10,000 and the cost of a cremation is closer to $1,000 — $3,000.

According to Teresa Gyulafia, strategic communications director at Batesville, families who opt for cremation spend 42 cents on the dollar compared with those who have traditional burials— “a big economic burden to the industry,” she comments.

The result is obvious: the number of funeral homes has fallen almost 10%, according to the NFDA, from 21,495 in 2005 to 19,391 in 2015, in part because of cremation’s popularity.

Gentrification is also hammering the industry, making the land a funeral home sits on more valuable than the revenue generated by the business.

Walmart’s Casket Price

Cost of goods aren’t faring much better, as Wal-mart offers payment terms, and prices that completely destroy funeral home margins (again)

Then there’s the “4th generation” problem. Funeral homes are often handed down generation to generation — but you try handing your funeral home to your gen-x or millennial offspring.

Hell no, most say. I’m going to travel the world with remote year or digital outposts, not deal with dead bodies.

Back to that mid west funeral industry conference.

Many. Funeral. Directors. Have. Their. Heads. In. The. Sand.