George Dickinson, is a professor of Death and Dying researched the phenomenon of Baby Boomers and personalised death trends. He said it is yet another way for the "me generation" to demonstrate their individuality and reject the rigid institutions of their parents' time. The trend towards personalising funerals is driven by our ‘culture of choice’.

"It gives Baby Boomers a chance to express themselves and I think it may even empower them," he said. "They say, 'This is my thing and I'm going to do it my way,‘

But death, like art, is also influenced by popular tastes and political influences, and this trend toward personalisation could well mark the beginning of a new phase in bereavement.

According to James H. Gilmore, Harvard Business, the future of funeral service is in creating unique and personalised experiences for families. "The funeral is probably the most profound event we experience as human beings”. The future will be about funerals becoming rapidly more of a focus on celebrating lives with Custom Funeral Experiences

“It is part of the individualism of our age and the logic of absorbing consumerist values. There is so much choice in every other aspect of our lives that it almost seems an outrage not to have choice in death.”

MKJ (leading researcher in the funeral industry for the past 20 years) conducted focus groups in December of 05 and 07. A large majority of the respondents had attended funerals that diminished the religious influences, and elevated personalisation.

The consensus from the focus groups was that the personalised funerals were more interesting and meaningful than traditional funerals they had attended.

MKJ other research studies –undertaken for the purpose of identifying which services the consumer perceives of greatest value. Included in the list are personalised funerals, on-line obituaries, on-line prearrangement and on-line purchase of merchandise.

Personalisation was selected as the most important in every study.

The National Funeral Directors Association says consumers are making funeral decisions based on different values than the previous generation. Their decisions are more event-based than product-based.