7-9. Describe the nature of unsought products and why they might be so notoriously difficult for a business to sell to consumers. (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking)

According to the U.K. price comparison site Compare the Market, the cost of funerals is rising on average at a rate of 7 percent per year. The Funeral Planning Authority (FPA)

estimates that the average cost of U.K. funerals is over

$5,000. With costs rising, the market for funeral plans has increased, with over 120,000 packages sold on a yearly basis. This is a considerable rise compared to 10 years ago, when less than 40,000 were being sold each year. The FPA states that there are 909,091 active plans (worth an estimated

$5 billion) in the United Kingdom and that this total will break the 1 million mark in 2015. It has been estimated that pre-paid funeral plans cover one in ten funerals in the United Kingdom. In 2014, Golden Charter, one of the biggest providers of plans, had a 21 percent growth in sales and their market share increased from 36.9 per cent to 41.7 per cent. The other two dominant market leaders are the Co-operative Group and Dignity. Between the three companies they control the bulk of the market. The funeral business as a whole is estimated to be worth around $3 billion per year in funeral costs, despite falling death rates. Pre-paid funeral plans are certainly unsought products and services, but they are becoming more and more popular.