Because it’s now the New Year, I have been reading about the predictions for the funeral industry during 2025 and what changes will take place during the next 12 months, according to the experts.
Among them was a further increase in popularity for direct cremations, where there is no funeral service before the cremation – a goodbye without saying goodbye.
I’m not sure I agree with this, because I think we may have reached the peak for direct cremations – we are currently around the 10% to 15% mark – and I expect them to plateau instead.
Being present is only human
Personally, I think there is only so much demand from people for a funeral industry which doesn’t bring them together in some form to remember the deceased and reflect on their life.
We know how much this helps our families during the grieving process and, besides, marking the passing of a member of a community has been a hallmark of human societies worldwide, going back many years.
It’s a human instinct and I can’t see that changing significantly any time soon.
Instead, my prediction would involve the ways in which technology is changing the way we reflect on someone’s life.
During my career I have seen the move from church funerals to services held at the crematorium, and a move away from spoken eulogies which provide a chronological account of someone’s life to presentations consisting of photos set to music.
From videos to holographs
This year, for the first time, I have seen videos of the loved one included in amongst the pictures, bringing a moving aspect to the eulogies, in more ways than one.
So my prediction is that videos of loved ones being shown at services will grow in popularity and, although not this year, the way being paved towards services featuring holographic avatars of the person moving and speaking.
It sounds like sci-fi, but bearing in mind they’ve done this with ABBA, it’s probably closer than we think – opening a new chapter in the way we say goodbye to our newly departed nearest and dearest.