Fourth of July sales to top $7.1B

Dive Brief:

A National Retail Federation survey, conducted by Proper Insights & Analytics, predicts that Americans will spend $7.1 billion on food items over the Fourth of July holiday, up from $6.8 billion in 2016 and $6.7 billion the year before. Included in the calculations are cookouts and picnics, with 65.5% of respondents saying they plan to celebrate Independence Day this way.
The average cost of food items per person for the holiday is estimated at $73.42, up from last year’s $71.34. According to the survey, 219 million Americans will celebrate the holiday, with 32.9 million traveling out of town (up from 31.1 million in 2016).
27.6% of Americans also indicated they would be purchasing patriotic merchandise for the celebrations, while 34% said they were unsure.

Dive Insight:

Holidays have always been big spending periods for consumers, the Fourth of July is no different, and with 219 million Americans taking part, it promises to bring in significant profits.

The majority of consumer spending for the period will go toward food, with the NRF estimating that Americans will spend an average $73.42 per person on cookouts and picnics. In what some grocery chains name their busiest days of the year, the Independence Day weekend should be a huge money-maker for big-box retailers like Target and Walmart, as well as traditional grocers like Kroger.

In addition to the insatiable American appetite, retailers will benefit from the sale of patriotic items, although not overwhelming. At least 27% of Americans plan to purchase some kind of patriotic merchandise, be it American flag, American t-shirt, or otherwise.

If last year is any indication, the weekend leading up to the holiday should be where consumer spending is the highest. Information aggregated from Bank of America’s over 40 million credit and debit accounts revealed that consumers spent 37% more on July 1 at mass market grocery stores than the year before, as well as 27% more at gas stations and accompanying tolls and bridges. With the increase in travel reported by the NRF this year, we can expect those trends to continue.