Surveys suggest less spending for Memorial Day weekend

Recent consumer surveys indicate a majority of Americans plan to celebrate Memorial Day, and 95% plan to purchase food and alcohol for family gatherings, according to data marketer Numerator.

Numerator found 68% of the respondents plan to hold spending under $100, and about 25% said they will spend more than they did a year ago.

Food is at the top of the holiday shopping list, followed by alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic beverages with a majority of consumers. About one-third said they will spend on decorations. Beer is the top beverage among consumer shopping lists with 76% of respondents. That is followed by wine (42%), spirits (36%), hard seltzers and canned cocktails by 35% of the respondents in the Numerator survey.

Memorial Day is also the kickoff to the summer grilling season and prices are up from a year ago. Chicken prices are up on most cuts year over year. Marinated chicken breasts for grilling averaged $7.04 per pound at retail this week, up 106% from a year ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dark meat leg-quarter prices are 11.8% more costly than a year ago. Whole birds will cost $1.34 per pound this holiday, up 6.3% from a year ago.

The USDA also reports hamburger beef prices are up year over year by 4.12%, rib-eye steak prices are up 22.7% and brisket is up about 69% more than last year. Pork butt which is smoked for pulled pork will cost $2.81 per pound, up 24% this year. One meat that is less expensive this year is pork dinner sausage, also typically smoked or grilled. The cost this week is $4.22 a pound, down from 13.7% from $4.89 a year ago, USDA reports.

Memorial Day is the second largest sales day for beer in the U.S. behind Independence Day, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association. Beer prices increased 6.1% in 2023, and the beer index reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics rose 2.83% from April 2023 to April 2024, the latest data available. Non-alcoholic beverage prices at retail are up between 30% and 40% compared to a year ago.

A separate GOBankingRates survey found Memorial Day spending plans vary widely among age groups. The survey found 29% of respondents said they would hold spending under $50 during the long weekend. Another 23% of the overall respondents said they would spend between $50 and $100 on food and drinks for the long weekend.

Older baby boomer consumers between 55 and 64 plan to keep their Memorial Day budget under $51. Those over 65 said they would spend less than $50. The biggest spenders are the younger Gen Zers. For ages 18 to 24, 28% plan to spend more than $50, but less than $100. Also, 20% will stick to a $50 budget or maybe less. Roughly half of Gen Zers plan to spend more than $100 this Memorial Day.

A recent survey by WalletHub found that the average cost of a Memorial Day hot dog cookout this year will be about $30, up 10% from a year ago. Each of the surveys found that unlike in past years when big-ticket sales of furniture and cars were common during the Memorial Day weekend, the biggest overall expenditure this year among all age groups will be food and beverages.