Consumers’ frustrations with inflation will extend into the holiday weekend as prices for most barbecue products have risen YoY.

Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial start to summer and, with it, barbecue season. But backyard grillers might be frustrated to learn that they won’t have a break from inflation when they buy their cookout supplies this year. 

Prices for many barbecue goods remain high or have increased from last year, yet another sign that the high prices from inflation remain sticky and show no sign of coming down anytime soon, according to Attain data. 

Charcoal is 20 percent more expensive than it was last year, and the cost of a six-pack of beer has risen 10 percent.

The price for most other goods — chips and dips, disposable tablecloths, hot dogs, ketchup, mustard and soft drinks — are essentially flat from last year. While these costs haven’t increased, consumers were already dismayed by the price of most goods (see: the Doritos effect), and will be frustrated to learn that sky-high prices caused by inflation haven’t abated. A recent Reddit post, (which has since been removed by moderators) asking what items people no longer want to pay for revealed that consumers are fed up with high prices across a litany of product categories, including everything from cereal and fast food, to movie theaters and LEGO sets.

Inflation rates settled at a normal 2-3 percent rate in 2024 and 2025 following the historic highs of the Covid era. But inflation ticked up again at the beginning of this year due to the military hostilities in Iran, which has slowed the transportation of crude oil and increased energy prices. 

Interestingly enough, Attain data shows the price of a tank of propane, which is largely produced from natural gas drilling rather than crude oil production, is down a significant 22 percent from last year. Pool inflatables have seen a drop year-over-year, even with plastics expected to increase along with crude oil. The highest drop in price is for hot dog buns, which are 31 percent cheaper than last year.

And so grill masters will have to bear the uncomfortable truth of the high cost of living in an economy still ravaged by record-setting, pandemic-induced inflation. Though they can take solace in that at least the hot dog buns are cheap.