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The world’s largest retailer wants to keep its customers even after they die.Wal-Mart has started selling caskets on its website at prices that undercut many funeral homes, long the major seller of caskets.The move follows a similar one by discount rival Costco which also sells caskets on its site.Wal-Mart quietly put up about 15 caskets and dozens of urns on its website last week. Prices range from US$999 to US$1,699 (RM3,400 to RM6,000).A spokesman for Walmart.com declined to release sales figures and downplayed the venture.Part of the business model is to get people to plan ahead: Walmart.com is allowing people to pay for the caskets over a period of 12 months for no interest.The funerals industry is not too concerned about Wal-Mart entering the market, said Pat Lynch, president-elect of the National Funeral Home Directors Association.He said Wal-Mart can’t offer one thing funeral directors can: The ability to comfort someone during trying times.“There’s no question in my mind as a funeral director for nearly 40 years that the most critical element is the human contact,” he said. — AP
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