Every Independence Day weekend, Americans prepare a feast to commemorate our country, our freedom, the invention of light beer, and the gift of long summer days. But mostly, it's a feast. Americans will spend an estimated $7.1 billion on food during the holiday weekend, retailers expect.
It's "one of the biggest food holidays of the year," a Wal-Mart spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.
The most consumed food: burgers, according to NPD. Last year, Americans bought $804 million worth of beef leading up to the holiday and $371 million worth of chicken, Nielsen data shows.
After burgers, steak, and chicken, hot dogs are the fourth most popular food on people's grills, NPD said. For Wal-Mart, Texas is the number-one burger and hot dog market.
Grilling seafood is less popular than all those meats, but we still bought $85.1 million worth of shrimp and $48.4 million of salmon, according to Nielsen.
Americans spent $43 million on barbecue sauce last Independence Day, topping ketchup's $37 million and mustard's $25 million.
And while rosé is still a tiny part of the wine business, it's also the fastest growing. Sales grew 53% in the 52 weeks ending in mid-April.
