BILLINGS — With the Fourth of July holiday coming up, people in the Billings area are flooding fireworks stands as prices have fallen from previous years.
According to the American Pyrotechnics Association, the average cost of fireworks is down between 5% and 10% this year compared to last.
Many people, such as shopper Mikhael Selle, did their fireworks shopping before the holiday.
“I came to get some last-minute fireworks for the big day tomorrow,” Selle said Wednesday.
“(We bought) a lot. Enough," said siblings Danielle Stark and Zander Hughs, who were purchasing fireworks on Wednesday. "I guess you could never have too many fireworks,” said Stark.
Eric Fisher is the owner of General Mortars Fireworks in Lockwood and says he’s noticed the change in prices.
“We've seen a little bit of a break in the pricing this year when we were working for our distributors, which were able to pass along to the consumers,” said Fisher.
Those purchasing fireworks have noticed the differences from last year.
“There's some that we bought this year that we've bought in previous years that were a little bit cheaper and so we could get more for the kids,” said Selle.
These changes in pricing are due to lower shipping costs.
“For a while, there were a lot of things that we just couldn't get, and I think that they just became more expensive because of that,” said Fisher.
The fireworks industry is expecting spending to increase by over $100 million from 2023, meaning overall sales could reach $2.4 billion.
Other stands haven’t seen a huge change. Matt Weber operates Patriot Discount Fireworks in Lockwood and said that while prices have remained steady, business has been growing.
“I think everybody's relatively pretty competitive across the board, I say as far as prices go. Each stand has something a little different and so, and prices are according to what you have,” said Weber. "The third and the fourth are always the busiest days."
No matter how those in the Billings area choose to celebrate, it’s always a good reminder to stay safe.
“When you're selling fireworks, when somebody comes in here, there's new devices, there's new things that are out there every year. I want to make sure that people are aware of how to utilize them,” said Fisher. "Make sure that you're not holding fireworks that are not designed for that, and aside from that is also pick up your garbage, pick up all of that stuff, however, make sure that it's wet and out."
“So just be smart, be safe, use common sense,” said Weber. "Please don't put your head over anything that you light."
