Americans know little about memorials but more prearranging own funerals

October 24, 2003

COLD SPRING, Minn. - Most Americans (64 percent) have never purchased a memorial - an upright monument or a flat marker - and put off making such decisions until a loved one dies, but more are starting to purchase memorials while they are alive, according to a survey conducted by the Cold Spring Granite Co., a leading memorial manufacturer.

The nationwide survey, the first of its kind gauging memorialization (memorial, burial and funeral) preferences of Americans by region, age, income, gender and ethnicity, highlights the lack of awareness about memorialization.

The survey found that a majority of Americans (62 percent) purchase memorials while planning the funeral or within six months after the funeral, but an increasing number (29 percent) are preplanning or purchasing memorials while they are alive. Half of the respondents said they are likely to preplan their funeral arrangements or have already done so in a trend that is likely to grow with the aging baby boomer generation.

"Parents today do not want their families to face the anxieties and tensions they suffered when they had to plan their parents' funerals," said Cold Spring Granite Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Michael T. Baklarz. "That's why preplanning, right next to cremation, is the biggest memorialization trend in the United States."

Consumers with no religious affiliation were among those most likely to make memorialization decisions (purchasing a memorial) within six months after a funeral. Those with higher incomes ($100,000 plus annually) were more likely to make such decisions while planning a funeral.

When asked about memorialization options, most respondents were familiar with traditional burials, upright monuments, flat granite and bronze markers, cremation urns, and scattering of ashes. Except for high-income respondents, awareness of other options, including family and community mausoleums and columbarium cremation niches was low.

Fewer chose other available options such as having: a favorite inscription, poem or saying on their memorial (37 percent); custom-designed images carved on their memorial (25 percent); vibrant granite colors (21 percent); and memorials customized in different shapes and designs (19 percent). Fifty-two percent of African-Americans in the survey preferred an inscription or favorite poem on their memorial compared to 36 percent of Caucasians.

Granite memorials were by far the top memorial choice for most respondents (66 percent) over bronze memorials (14 percent). Traditional burials were preferred by most (58 percent) over cremation (34 percent). The percentage of respondents preferring cremation, however, was significantly higher than the actual rate of cremation out of the total number of deaths, indicating cremation will grow at an even faster rate.

Around 26 percent of more than 2.2 million Americans who died last year were cremated. Analysts forecast the cremation rate to nearly double by 2025. Preference for cremation was high among non-religiously affiliated and high-income respondents. Preference for traditional burials was highest among lower-income and religiously affiliated groups.

One reason why so many Americans today opt for traditional gray upright memorials and funerals is because loved ones have not left specific instructions about memorialization preferences. "You don't want to pick a design that might be perceived as disrespectful," said Baklarz. "Latest trends show more people, especially baby boomers, picking vibrant granite colors and memorials with different shapes that are carved with images reflecting their hobbies and personal lifestyles."

The survey interviewed 1,000 males and females aged 45 and over that were randomly selected from four regions (Northeast, Southeast, West and Central).

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For more information about Cold Spring Granite's Consumer Memorialization Research Survey, e-mail geoff@russellherder.com for an electronic version of the White Paper detailing the survey results and to interview Michael T. Baklarz.

The Cold Spring Granite Co. is the largest granite quarrier in the United States and a major producer of granite for commercial and government buildings and national war memorials. The Cold Spring Granite Memorial Group offers the broadest line of memorial products, including granite monuments and markers, bronze memorials on granite bases, bronze statues, community mausoleums, private mausoleums, granite cremation urns and cremation memorials, and crypt and niche columbariums.

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