NEW YORK — Americans have one more reason to celebrate this Fourth of July: getting all the gear needed to host a pool party costs less than it has in years, according to a market research company’s preliminary data.
The total price to buy beach towels, a beverage cooler, bathing suits and other accountrements of summer fun averaged $858 in June, the lowest amount for the month since 2020, consumer data provider Numerator said in an analysis prepared for The Associated Press.
The finding from the firm’s seasonal snapshot comports with broader economic measures indicating that U.S. consumers so far have not seen major impacts from President Donald Trump’s vigorous application of tariffs on foreign goods.
Numerator tracks U.S. retail prices through sales receipts, online account activity and other information from a panel of 200,000 shoppers. To see how prices are shaping up for the summer, the company looked at the average purchase price for 16 seasonal items typically made in China.
Along with four towels, a cooler and bathing suits for two adults and a toddler, the hypothetical shopping list for a poolside gathering included a grill, four patio chairs, four cushions, a patio umbrella and four outdoor pillows. Recreation supplies included a cornhole set, two pairs of swim goggles, a set of diving rings, two beach balls and two pool floats or noodles.
Leo Feler, Numerator’s chief economist, offered a few theories for why buying all that stuff cost 11% less last month than it did in June 2023, when the average cost reached a high of $966, and 8.4% less than it did in June 2024.
Wholesale suppliers and retailers that order from Chinese manufacturers may have imported too much stock while trying to stay ahead of high tariff bills, Feler said. As declining consumer confidence measures pointed to the possibility of weak sales, those businesses might have offere