As fireworks light up the sky this Independence Day, experts expect consumers to light up cash registers, with 4th of July spending expected to increase for the second year in a row.
The average American will likely spend $330 over the holiday weekend, according to a recent survey by WalletHub. Though this year’s forecasts represent a healthy 10% gain over the average amount spent in 2013, the increase trails last year’s whopping 58% increase from 2012.
Another positive sign for consumer spending is that the 4th of July holiday falls on a Friday this year, meaning many people are primed and ready for a weekend getaway — 41% of the people surveyed said they planned on traveling, compared with 31% of people in 2013.
First on the 4th of July shopping list — and the key to celebrating the holiday for many Americans — are fireworks. This year is expected to be a banner year for pyrotechnics sales, which have risen steadily since 2006.
“If sales remain strong through July 4th, and the weather cooperates, consumer fireworks revenues could exceed $675 million for the 2014 fireworks season,” says Julie L. Heckman, Executive Director of the American Pyrotechnics Association.
What you spend and what you buy over the course of the holiday may well depend on where you live, at least according to last year’s Visa July 4th Spending Survey:
- Northeasterners will spend an average of $454.
- Southerners will spend an average of $339.
- Westerners will spend an average of $206.
- Midwesterners will spend an average of $195
Much of this money will go to food, beverages and favors for parties. Here are some average spending numbers from 2013:
- Most Fourth of July party tabs ran about $300 [Visa Survey], up more than 30% over 2012. That’s a lot of hot dogs and hamburgers – seven out of 10 Americans attended cookouts, according to the National Retail Federation Foundation.
- 40% of Americans bought fireworks. Spending on sparklers, Roman candles and other things that light up the night is double in the South compared with the Northeast and West.
- Last year, boosted by discretionary income and greater confidence, consumers spent more than $1,100 on excursions over the holiday. With this year’s day off falling on a Friday, it bodes well for travel.
- On a lighter note, Americans ate 150 million hotdogs over the holiday last year—almost a quarter of the summer’s total consumption, the National Sausage and Hot Dog Council told Forbes.
- One out of four people said they would purchase patriotic gear, according to the NRF survey.
The good news for marketers: consumers are again planning to open their wallets this Independence Day and are feeling even more confident in their abilities to spend to make it memorable.