Walmart Sells Caskets Online. How Will Funeral Homes React?

It was revealed today that retail giant Walmart is selling caskets and urns on their website. So, if you go to www.walmart.com, and type in "caskets," you will be surprised by the selection of caskets available to you. The cheapest one retails for just under a thousand dollars. The most expensive one goes for as much as $3,199.00. Interestingly, Walmart's competitor Costco caters caskets as well. The brands that Costco carries are pretty much the same as those available at Walmart. For example, the Lady of Guadalupe casket would go for $999 at Walmart, but the same brand sells for $924.99 at Costco. Urns go for as much as $100 on both Walmart's and Costco's websites.

So, while it may feel strange to be able to buy a casket at the same store that sells cheese and toothbrushes, the availability of caskets and urns at general retailers like Walmart might actually be alleviating the financial burden of funerals on average consumers. Funerals remain a very expensive service in North America, so surpassing the monopoly of funeral homes that sometimes charge unreasonably high prices for funeral services might actually benefit the consumer in today's tough economy.