Fireworks sales expected to be down nationally, but not at the SC state line

FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Fireworks warehouses and tents across the country brace for the rush of last-minute fireworks purchases, but some experts predict overall sales will dip for a second year in row.

Fireworks sales among consumers reportedly spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers found that people were bored and were finding substitutions for no firework shows during holiday seasons.

However, sales reportedly tapered off in 2023 and could do the same again this year.

Boston University business professor Jay Zagorsky published his market prediction in an edition of The Conversation.

In the paper, he expects that market import levels are on track to be lower than in years past.

He stated that fireworks imports peaked in 2022 at $600 million, but “only reached $350 million in 2024. … They were going up for years, and then they just dropped.”

The U.S. International Trade Commission reported in 2021 that fireworks had an import price of roughly $1.13 per pound for retailers.

However, it’s now jumped to $1.61 per pound.

Zagorsky explained the U.S. is “adding more tariffs on products coming from China and almost all of the consumer fireworks, not professional, but consumer fireworks, almost 100% comes from China.”

This leads to tighter budgets for shoppers.

Business along the state line of North Carolina and South Carolina, however, could avoid a large dip given their location.

Retailers just south of the border told Queen City News that traffic has been steady in the weeks leading up to the Fourth, and they anticipate another last-minute rush.

Unlike other parts of South Carolina, they get business from two different states and have had to add extra staff to keep up with the demand.

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