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2 Jul, 2014

Georgetown Institute Research: How Americans Will Celebrate July 4

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 01, 2014 – The Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research recently polled consumers about their plans for this July 4 holiday – ranging from activities, to food choices, to the average amount of money people are willing to spend, finding preferences for barbecues, burgers, sparklers, and a bipartisan sentiment for governments hosting fireworks displays. (Click here to download the report FREE.)

The institute, which is housed at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, drew respondents from an online sample of 1,003 Americans. They found that:

  • 84% plan to celebrate around the grill, and 74% will spend time at a fireworks show.
  • 50% chose burgers as the quintessential July 4 barbecue item.
  • 59% will serve or take salad or corn on the cob to a gathering, followed by burgers (53%), alcohol (43%), chicken, pork, or steak (37%), sausage, hot dogs, or bratwurst (33%), and watermelon (33%).
  • Consumers plan to spend an average of $80 this holiday, with hosts spending $130 and those simply attending spending $60.
  • When accommodating guests’ dietary restrictions, 58% of hosts will buy food specifically for those with special needs, whereas 11% expect guests to bring their own food. 31% expect their guests to simply eat what they can from what is served.
  • Half of respondents will purchase fireworks, with no variation across gender, age, or place of living.
  • Those who intend to buy fireworks indicated they would spend an average of $100 – slightly more than the average spent on food. Those with children will spend $120 on average, $30 more than those without children.
  • Preferences for specific types of fireworks were sparklers (65.1%), a combination pack (62.8%), firecrackers (52.7%), poppers and snaps (47.8%), Roman candles (47.1%), and snakes/strobes (34%).
  • Respondents said the most patriotic activities for July 4 are watching fireworks (37%), flying the national flag (18%), hosting or attending a barbecue (15%), or wearing red, white, and blue apparel (10%).
  • In a show of political consensus, 60% of conservatives and liberals agreed that the federal government should spend money on fireworks and 75% of both political affiliations agree that their local government should pay for fireworks shows.