THE NUMBERS ARE IN: DIGITAL MERCHANDISING WORKS!

Of course, many of you reading this have known it for years. But for funeral directors who have been skeptical of utilizing technology displays to showcase caskets, we can share the results with you.

When funeral homes use the Matthews Aurora digital catalog, they sell on average a $150 better wholesale casket than the entire population. With a conventional margin, that equates to an additional $300/revenue or $150/profit to the funeral home.

This data was evaluated from October 2024 to December 2024. Why does it work?

There are two components required to make this work.

Intentional Merchandising and Engaged Presentation.

A traditional casket merchandising room and pricing plan are set up to resemble the kite methodology that you see in the graphic. There are limited options for low-end caskets and more options for target-priced caskets. But because there’s a physical limitation to how many products you can show in a selection room, the “kite” may be limited to 16-32 selections. When it comes to using digital merchandising tools, the primary rules remain the same - limited options for low-end caskets and more options for target-priced caskets. But when it comes to digital presentation, you could include 150-200 caskets or more. But who wants to allow families to browse 200 casket options? That is where the second component comes in.

ENGAGED PRESENTATION

The answer is nobody wants to browse 200 casket options. Some families have a hard enough time making a decision in a room of 16 caskets. A well-designed digital catalog will have the ability to allow the arranger to play a more interactive - or engaged – role in the process of selecting the perfect casket with the family. The conversation may begin with, “Caskets basically come in two types: wood and metal. Does your family have a preference?” If the family indicated the metal caskets were their preference, you might take a moment to explain that is a popular choice. “Many families choose metal due to the wide variety of colors that are available. What was Mom/Dad/Your loved one’s favorite color?

You might further provide the family with some context and education by explaining exterior material options.“There are options available in premium metals like solid bronze and copper. Stainless steel, 16-gauge, and 18-gauge offer the most options, and 20-gauge steel is the thinnest and least expensive metal used in making caskets. Which of these selections do you want to explore?” You could see how similar questions would apply if the family preferred a hardwood casket. “Which of these casket species do you think would be right for Mom/Dad/Your loved one’s casket?” “Do you have any preference for a more high-gloss finish or a natural satin finish?” With three simple engaging questions and the filters the digital display uses, 200 caskets have been cut down to maybe 17 or fewer (the same size as a showroom). But here’s the key, it’s 17 caskets the family curated, and they are interested in. As the family reviews these options, they may set a price ceiling in their mind, but they are highly likely to choose from the selections that you have presented to them that matched their preferences. I call this an Engaged Presentation because it requires the funeral arranger to be an engaged participant in the discussion and selection process with the family. While families don’t want to be pressured into a choice, if you can help facilitate their selection with useful, informative information, families will welcome your assistance. Of course, you may choose to present casket personalization options at this time. Families are not aware of ways they can add a personal touch to a casket. When families choose caskets in this way, many feel like they are custom designing the casket, even though they are simply narrowing the selections from the list of caskets you have available to them. Going from 20 target-priced caskets in a physical selection room to 200 target-priced caskets naturally means the funeral home sells a target-priced casket more often. It’s the difference between having three blue caskets versus 24 blue caskets. Or a physical selection room having one cherry casket versus five cherry caskets. Most funeral homes would be happy to sell any of those cherry caskets.

NO DOWNSIDE

When set up appropriately (see notes on Intentional Merchandising), using these digital merchandising tools provides no downside to the funeral home when used as the sole casket selection process, or as a complement to a physical selection room. In fact, based on the data presented at the top of the article, there is abundant evidence that there is significant revenue and profit improvement. I’ll remind you here – about $300/revenue and $150/profit per casket sale. “But I’m Too Stuck, Untrained, and Not Tech-Savy.”

Maybe. But is the entire staff of arrangers? Could the team be earning the funeral home more money and more satisfied families by offering families more choices? And what about the families that you are serving today? Would one or more of the family members feel comfortable with a simple, intuitive layout that allows them to answer those simple questions noted earlier to find the perfect casket? Matthews Aurora’s Technology Team recently introduced the new FamilyTouch Kiosk which provides an interactive kiosk to allow families or funeral directors to utilize the power of our digital catalog on a large commercial touchscreen. A recent customer told me, “I’m not sure I can get my arrangers to use it, but I know families will use it.”

MORE BEYOND THE CASKET

With an intuitive selection guide, digital merchandising tools can help funeral homes simplify the process of presenting large catalogs of funeral merchandise, including urns, keepsakes, jewelry, flowers, or bronze or granite memorials as well. And when families feel like they are custom designing something, they are typically willing to pay more and are more satisfied with their selections.

Marty Strohofer is the Vice President of Marketing and Product Development for Matthews Aurora™ Funeral Solutions. For 24 years, he has worked with funeral homes to implement merchandising, marketing, and technology solutions for their business.