Funeral
homes of tomorrow are on the Web
From...
The Industry Standard
October 30, 2000
Web posted at: 12:01 p.m. EST (1701 GMT)
by Ronna Abramson
(IDG) -- His father's ashes stowed in
a cardboard box in his carry-on bag, Chicago lawyer Kent
Maynard Jr. knew as he flew home earlier this year that
he had to plan a military funeral for the retired Air
Force colonel whose name he shared. His father had asked
to be cremated, and Maynard wanted to minimize his
dealings with funeral directors. So he turned to the
Net, going online to buy a wooden urn with an Air Force
insignia along with a case for a flag folded by an Air
Force platoon. He also posted a free obituary at a
virtual cemetery.
"I really didn't want to discuss
[it] and have someone asking me questions," says
Maynard. "The last thing you need is someone trying
to guilt you into something you don't want."
The online funeral industry began
emerging a few years ago, but in the last few months it
has become much more crowded. A year ago there were two
major companies, Los Angeles-based Plan4ever and New
York-based www.HeavenlyDoor.com
(the only publicly traded funeral site), competing to be
the definitive funeral portal. But earlier this month www.Arrangeonline.com
launched, boasting the coveted endorsement of the
National Funeral Directors Association. Another company,
www.Funeral.com, is
scheduled to unveil its site Nov. 30, banking on its
moniker to drive traffic.
While these sites seek to offer a full
range of services and products, there's also a bevy of
new companies offering everything, including grave
sites, caskets and Webcastings of funerals.
The companies are fighting over a
growing business. The number of U.S. deaths is expected
to grow from 2.3 million in 1998 to 2.6 million in 2010
and reach 3 million by 2020 as baby boomers age. Still,
it remains to be seen how the Internet can fit into a
business in which undertakers clearly control the
market.
What appears to be emerging in the
funeral industry is a hybrid model: Net companies need
to be allied with funeral homes, particularly given
their large share of the death business. The situation
is similar to the auto industry and its relationship
with dealers. The Web can be used to reduce the amount
of time that a customer spends at a brick-and-mortar
store, but ultimately the deal needs to be closed in
person.
Arrangeonline.com is the first to take
this step, asking customers to check off a list of the
services they want, complete with low- and high-price
estimates. It then forwards the information to local
funeral homes, which then call the customer to iron out
details. (Arrangeonline is a subsidiary of Continental
Computer, which has sold software to nearly one-quarter
of the nation's 22,000 funeral homes.) Officials with
Plan4ever, HeavenlyDoor and Funeral.com say they will
unveil similar services in the coming weeks.
Arrangeonline.com is starting from a
different place than industry pioneer HeavenlyDoor,
which began by selling online obituaries. While it has
since expanded its offerings, it remains unprofitable,
losing $2.6 million in the quarter ending June 30. The
company just tested a system that lets consumers buy
prearranged funerals online through a funeral home, and
executives expect to release it to the public by the end
of the year.
Meanwhile, Plan4ever also appears to
be pursuing a brick-and-click strategy, opting to work
with the large chains that own one-fifth of the nation's
funeral homes, while continuing to offer free online
obituaries.
Maynard took advantage of the free
obituary at Plan4ever, but his decision to buy his
father's urn from another site underscores the challenge
funeral portals face. While they seek to empower
customers, they may have trouble keeping them on their
portals. "Every step of the way, we controlled the
process," says Maynard.
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