A new study reveals more and more Baby Boomers and tech-savvy elderly are heading online for funeral planning.
Since launching in April this year, Australia’s largest funeral comparison website, Gathered Here, has seen a rush of consumers moving online to find funeral planning services.
“The number of customers searching for funeral homes on our website has increased 70% month on month. We’ve been blown away by the immediate demand,” says Colin Wong, Founder of Gathered Here.
The customers on their website range from Baby Boomers planning funerals for their parents, to the more tech-savvy elderly who are pre-planning their own funerals. “Australians have a comparison mindset for all products and services these days. We just needed to wait for the right time for the same thing to come to funerals.”
The company recently released a study on funeral costs in Australia, analysing the 9,000+ prices from 660 funeral homes in their database. The results are interesting, showing that New South Wales and Western Australia are the most expensive states to die in, where the average cost of a funeral is $6,577 and $6,727, respectively. Queensland by comparison is the cheapest state to die in, with the average cost being $5,553.
Wong said that the higher prices in New South Wales are reflective of the general higher cost of living in the state, but said that the higher costs in Western Australia were harder to pin down. The prices also do not include a burial plot or any other cemetery fees, which can range from $2,000 up to $15,000.
By spending a few minutes online, Wong says that families can save thousands on the cost of a funeral. The study from Gathered Here shows that the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive funeral in Australia is over $5,000.
Gathered Here made national headlines earlier this year when they announced that they had been the target of legal threats from a number of funeral directors, who objected to having their price lists displayed online. Since then, Wong says that the conversation with funeral directors has been changing for the better.
“Funeral directors are realising that more families are moving online to find their services, and that’s something we can help them with. Our website allows funeral directors to focus on providing the best care for families rather than online marketing – it’s a win-win for both parties.”
ABOUT
Colin Wong is the founder and CEO of Gathered Here, responsible for marketing and business development. Prior to starting Gathered Here, Colin was a founding team member of ASX-listed startup REFFIND and CEO of WooBoard, a Pollenizer portfolio company which he led to an exit. Colin has a combined Commerce / Law degree (hons) from UNSW and practised as a solicitor for 6 years at King & Wood Mallesons.
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