Expert view from the Funeral sector
Braemar Finance recently conducted its latest Business Barometer research, which examines current Funeral Home sector trends and the view of business-owners about a range of issues, from the cost of doing business to recruitment and retention.
In this piece, we get under the skin of the data to find out more…
Cost of doing business
The cost of energy has had – by some distance – the most impact on Funeral Homes’ income, with 36% selecting this option. Fuel increases (23%), supply costs (18%) and staff pay rises (12%) are the next most cited.
Unsurprisingly, 87% of Funeral Homes said they were taking measures to reduce their energy use, including, in order of most popular measures:
- Lowering the heating
- Turning off the lights overnight
- Replacing equipment with more energy-efficient alternatives
- Changed energy supplier
- Insulating your building
- Looking at alternative heating and energy sources
Unfortunately, over a third (35%) of Funeral Homes confirmed that they had considered closing their business as a result of rising costs, and 40% said that they had made redundancies because of the impact of rising costs.
85% of firms surveyed admitted to passing on additional costs to their customers, either partially (65%) or fully (20%).
Recruitment and retention
Looking at staff vacancies and the impact of the recruitment and the retention crisis, 41% of Funeral Homes replied that they currently have a vacancy to fill. A further 43% said they’ve struggled to fill vacancies in the past 12 months.
45% of Funeral Homes say there is a skills crisis in the sector, and a similar number are currently finding it more difficult to fill vacancies than they did before.
The UK’s economic outlook
The majority (90%) of Funeral Homes surveyed responded that they were either ‘very’ (30%) or ‘somewhat’ (60%) concerned about the UK’s current economic performance. Despite this, 17% expected to expand in the coming 12 months against 16% who think they will contract; 65% hope to ‘stay the same’ – only 2% think they’ll close their doors permanently.
Eight in 10 of respondents confirmed they’d been impacted by rising inflation, and 62% admit it’s likely they’ll apply for funding within the year.
The environment
Despite the economic headwinds they’re facing, 65% of Funeral Homes are working to limit their environmental impact and 79% have considered climate change and other environmental factors within their business plans.
A further 79% believe they can help tackle climate change and a further 22% believe they can achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
New technology
Half of respondents are looking to invest in new technologies over the course of the next year, and 59% of Funeral Homes stated they feel keeping up-to-date with modern technologies is a key differentiator for customers and a reason they may choose their Funeral Home over a competitor.
88% percent of Funeral Homes are confident about being able to keep ahead of technological developments within the profession.
Methodology:*
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from a Censuswide survey conducted in February 2023. The survey canvassed the opinion of over 1,200 senior members of the professions across the UK on a range of issues affecting their businesses.
