Fourth of July prices surge: beverages, burgers, snacks

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - For some people, going all out on the Fourth of July is another reason to celebrate the holiday but with some prices that would make various consumers gasp it’s important to know what items won’t break the bank.

This year, preparing items for your Fourth of July celebration could not hurt your wallet as badly as last year regarding party items. Although, when it comes to the world of beverages, that’s a different story.

“Sodas, wine, beer—all of those are actually up in price,” said Pattern data analyst Dallin Hatch.

But if party products like fireworks and inflatable pools are a tad bit cheaper this time of year, according to data from Pattern, why are the beverage aisle prices going up?

“One hypothesis that could explain the data is that these goods aren’t like your inflatable pools or grills where there’s a lot of seasonality to them; they’re actually things that are usually in demand throughout a calendar year, and so the fact that they’re up in price probably is more of an indicator of just the increase in cost that we’re continuing to see in materials,” explained Hatch.

These issues are also plaguing one of the more sought-after categories of food during this time of year, the iconic burger. Those ground meat prices are also on fire outside of the grill, as a Wells Fargo report shows that beef is at an average of $5.36 per pound, up about 1% from last year.

Some more prices around the grocery store that you should keep an eye out for are eggs, as it seems that the Avian flu shock has left the stage, as a dozen eggs currently could cost you on average $2.67, which is a 7% drop from last year and a significant drop from the average of $4.82 at the start of this year. This is good news for those that enjoy those deviled eggs or egg salad for a holiday.

Finally, another snack you might want to watch out for are those salty snacks called potato chips. According to Wells Fargo, the drought last year that affected key growing regions of potatoes sent the price of potato chips soaring to about $6.45 a pound. This is about a 15% increase from a year prior.

They also state that on average, dips and condiments could be 9% more expensive than last year.

A good rule of thumb this year for the holiday is to opt out of those name-brand items for the off-brand ones, or if you must buy the name-brand ones, looking for those items in bulk could also help you save those precious dollars.

If you are interested in reading more about the data used in this story, you can click on these links:

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