Prices drop for Fourth of July party accessories, rise for drinks

Fourth of July party accessories will be cheaper this year as consumers start to feel the breeze of cooling inflation, but drink prices are still rising, a consumer report found.

Folding tables, grill accessories, inflatable pools, glow sticks, sparklers, camping gear and fireworks listed for sale at Amazon dropped between 2% and 8% in average prices in the second quarter from last year, market researcher Pattern reported.

Daily prices also fell year over year by 3% or 30 cents for hot dogs and by 4% or 22 cents for barbecue sauce over the same period, according to Pattern. The company averaged daily listings for the most popular holiday items in each Amazon product category during the April 1-June 30 quarter.

At the same time, average prices rose for beverages, ranging from a 1% increase for beer to a more than 25% spike for Olipop prebiotic soda. The report did not explain the reason for the increases.

“If you’re looking to save on Fourth of July purchases this year, go easy on the beverage buying,” Hamilton Noel, Pattern’s data scientist, told The Washington Times.

According to the report, the average price of a folding table fell from $66.14 last year to $62.74 this year. The average price of an inflatable swimming pool dropped from $58.01 to $54.31.

Soft drinks are leading the price increases for beverages. The average price of Pepsi-owned Mountain Dew products listed on Amazon rose from $12.38 last year to $16.82 this year, while Coca-Cola-owned Sprite products went up from $11.71 to $13.47.

Average alcohol prices rose 19 cents for tequila and 32 cents for beer. The average price of the most popular bottles of wine increased from $19.93 last year to $21.04 this year.

“Inflation has eased on most groceries typically associated with Independence Day celebrations, mirroring the inflation cooling seen across much of the U.S. economy,” Mr. Noel noted. “But beverages are the one party staple to see significant price increases over the last year.”