Your 4th of July celebrations will be more expensive this year

( Business) — The 4th of July celebrations will be much masks this year. The positive side? Beer is still relatively cheap.

In the four weeks ending June 12, the price of a package of hot dogs rose about 17% compared to last year, according to market research firm IRI, which tracks total multi-point retail sales. for sale in the US, convenience stores and elsewhere.

In that same period, ketchup prices increased 21%, ground beef prices increased 11%, and hamburger and hot dog buns rose nearly 13%.

Other items for grilling also became more expensive. Frozen meat excluding poultry was up 16%, frozen sausages were up almost 27%, and lettuce prices were up about 13%. Mustard also became 13% more expensive.

Beer, on the other hand, shot up only around 4%. That’s a bargain, considering the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, a key gauge of inflation, rose 6.3% for the year ending May.

But overall, “the cost of vacations is going to be much higher this year than even last year,” Joan Driggs, IRI’s vice president of thought leadership, told Business.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that Independence Day is hard on your wallet: Grocery prices have skyrocketed over the last year.

According to the Consumer Price Index, groceries were 12% more expensive in the year to May, the biggest year-over-year increase since 1979.

There are a number of reasons for the drastic increases. Higher fuel prices, rising commodity costs due to the war in Ukraine and severe weather have affected food supplies and caused higher prices.

Driggs pointed to another problem: the difficulty of forecasting customer demand. Some manufacturers may have anticipated that more people would be eating in restaurants now, he said, but “with inflation, people may not be dining out as much as they used to.”

Meanwhile, the demand for celebrations at home is increasing. “People are expecting a little more home entertainment this year,” Driggs said.

small discounts ahead

Those who shopped for barbecue items in the weeks leading up to June 12 may not have been shopping specifically for Independence Day barbecues. Now, with the 4th of July just around the corner, there may be some deals on offer. But any discount is likely to be small, Driggs noted.

Prices may seem “a little more acceptable when you consider some of the promotions that are out there,” Driggs said. But this year’s deals may not reach “the depth of discounting that we’ve seen in the past,” he said.

For example: In years past, consumers may have seen “buy one, get one free” deals in stores. This year, they may have to buy two to get the free gift.

One reason discounts are less generous, Driggs said, is that with higher gas prices, fewer people will be looking for the best deal.

“That’s kind of an advantage for retailers,” he said, but “it’s a tough mix for shoppers right now.”

— ‘s Chiara Grimes and Alicia Wallace contributed to this report.