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Americans are forecasted to dish out $84 per person on food, fireworks, beer and other festivities for Fourth of July celebrations this year – up $4 from last year.
The National Retail Federation’s Independence Day survey of more than 8,200 Americans found that 84 percent of people plan to celebrate the holiday, the same as last year, but still below pre-pandemic numbers.
The number of people planning cookouts, however, has dipped to 59 percent, down from 61 percent last year, as the cost of ingredients have shot up by more than $10 in 2022 as the nation deals with soaring inflation.
The National Retail Federation’s Independence Day survey found that 84 percent of people plan to celebrate the holiday, the same as last year but still below pre-pandemic levels
The number of people planning cookouts is down this year to 59 percent, but more people are going out to fireworks celebrations, community events and parades since the pandemic
The average spending on food shot up to $69.68, a 17 percent increase from 2021
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s ‘Cost of July 4th Cookout’ study, the average cost of ingredients for Independence Day celebrations have gone up from $59.50 in 2021 to $69.68 this year, a 17 percent rise.
A package of hamburger buns will cost Americans an average of $1.93, up 16 percent from last year.
Two-pounds of chicken breasts are selling at $8.99, a 33 percent increase, and half a gallon of ice cream is marketed at $5.16, a 10 percent spike.
Ground beef saw the largest increase, with two-pounds going on average for $11.12, up 36 percent from last year.
AFBF Chief Economist Roger Cryan said the rising costs are due to inflation, ongoing supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine.
‘Despite higher food prices, the supply chain disruptions and inflation have made farm supplies more expensive; like consumers, farmers are price-takers not price-makers,’ Cryan said.
‘Bottom line, in many cases the higher prices farmers are being paid aren’t covering the increase in their farm expenses. The cost of fuel is up and fertilizer prices have tripled.’
A new study from Wells Fargo and the U.S. Bureau of Labor also found that the cost of beer has shot up 25 percent ahead of the top holiday for at-home drinking.
And the American Pyrotechnics Association said that fireworks cost are up 35 percent from last year after costs increased over shipping, transportation, insurance and labor.
Inflation hit 8.6 percent in May, the highest it’s been in more than 40 years
Despite the blow to cookouts, the NRF’s survey found that more people are planning to attend larger events since the pandemic.
About 37 percent of respondents said they were planning to attend fireworks and community celebrations, up 4 percent from last year, but still lower than the 40 percent who attended events in 2019.
The survey also found 13 percent of Americans would be attending Fourth of July parades, up 5 percent from last year and higher than the 11 percent in 2019.
About 18 percent also said they were celebrating in other forms, more than twice as much as those in 2019.
The number of people traveling to celebrate the holiday, however, saw a slight fall to 10 percent this year compared to 12 percent in 2021, as the nation braces for a chaotic travel weekend.
As of Friday noon 272 flights within, into, or out of the U.S. have already been canceled, with 1,983 flights delayed.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport: Passengers wait in line for security as they travel in the Fourth of July weekend, where Delta Airlines has already cancelled 67 flights and delayed 229
Delta head Ed Bastian told customers that the airline would be adding extra boarding times, improving crew scheduling and bringing on workers as it leads the rescheduling among major airlines, canceling 67 flights and delaying 229 so far on Friday.
‘We’ve spent years establishing Delta as the industry leader in reliability, and though the majority of our flights continue to operate on time, this level of disruption and uncertainty is unacceptable,’ Bastian wrote in a letter to frequent flyer clients.
‘Things won’t change overnight, but we’re on a path towards a steady recovery.’
In addition to airport chaos and heavy traffic, holiday travelers will have to contend with higher prices.
Average gas prices have soared 56 percent from a year ago, mid-range hotel prices have increased 23 percent, and average lowest airfares are up 14 percent.
In total, AAA projects that 47.9 million Americans will travel for the Fourth this year, up 3.7 percent from last year and close to the historic peak reached in 2019, before the pandemic struck.
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