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Pinoy traditions drive sari-sari store sales surge during Chinese New Year – Packworks 

by Contributor
written by Contributor

Manila, Philippines — As the Chinese New Year approaches, Filipinos are turning cultural traditions and ‘suwerte’ (luck) into a shopping list, fueling a sales surge in sari-sari stores nationwide as families prepare to welcome prosperity for the year ahead.

Filipino tech startup Packworks, through its business intelligence tool Sari IQ, analyzed over a million monthly transactions across its network of 300,000 stores over a three-year period. The study compared sales trends for holiday-related items two weeks before and after the Chinese New Year from 2023 to 2025. The data reveal that items linked to abundance and luck, such as hopia, Chinese wine, and Asian noodles, posted sales increases, reflecting how Filipino beliefs influence consumption during the occasion.

Hopia, a round pastry of Chinese origin symbolizing togetherness and good fortune, steadily grew sales from 2023 to 2025. Its median gross merchandise value (GMV) rose 20% in 2025, up from 14% increase in 2023. The Visayas regions led the sales growth. Central Visayas (Region VII) saw a massive 240% spike in sales and a 200% increase in transactions in 2025. This popularity reflects the region’s enduring Chinese cultural influence, particularly in Western and Central Visayas, hubs home to significant Chinese-Filipino communities such as Iloilo, which is home to approximately 14,000 Chinese-Filipinos.

Meanwhile, Chinese wine, often linked with holiday toasts and wishes for prosperity, saw its median GMV leap 36% in 2025, from a mere 3% in 2023. Growth was seen across most regions, with Central Luzon (Region III) maintaining a consistent 100% sales increase each year, along with Eastern Visayas, showing steadily rising growth from 72% in 2023, and highest surge of 107% in 2024 and 115% in 2025. This trend highlights the intersection of Chinese influence and the local tradition of ‘tagay’ (communal drinking). 

Asian noodles, a staple symbolizing long life, saw a 10% sales increase in 2025, rebounding from a 3% decline the previous year. SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII) recorded the highest sales in 2025 with 25% increase, likely driven by a 36% rise in stores selling the product, the highest among all regions. Western Visayas had the largest jump in transactions, at 25%, reflecting the region’s Chinese culinary influences and its growing Chinese-Filipino community. Meanwhile, Central Luzon and Eastern Visayas continued to sustain sales growth over the three years, with Central Luzon recording 27% in 2023, 15% in 2024, and 17% in 2025, and Eastern Visayas showing steady, although gradually decreasing growth at 28%, 18%, and 9%. These trends reflect steady top-up purchases of affordable and culturally symbolic items in sari-sari stores in these regions. 

Packworks chief data officer Andoy Montiel said these patterns reflect how Filipinos weave tradition into purchasing decisions.

“Our historical data underscores how deeply traditional beliefs and cultural influences are embedded in the Filipino psyche, proving that commerce is inseparable from culture. The sales trends show that for the average Filipino, Chinese New Year isn’t just a holiday, but a window for ‘investing’ in prosperity. These cultural nuances are mirrored in the sari-sari store ecosystem, proving that in our local market, heritage often leads the hand that shops,” Montiel said.

The Filipinos’ “prosperity basket” also extends to kitchen essentials used for holiday feasts. Soy sauce, a staple introduced in Chinese cuisine, saw sales rise 9% in 2025, while seasoning granules and MSG grew by 7%. Cooking oil also saw around a 13% increase in both sales and transactions. Furthermore, sweet products like chocolates and sugar, symbolizing a “sweet” year ahead, experienced notable growth. Chocolates saw a 36% boost in sales in 2025, while sugar maintained a strong presence following a massive 47% spike in 2024.

“Our latest insights prove that to stay relevant, brands and FMCGs must move beyond passive stocking and traditional distribution toward a hyper-localized, insight-led strategy. By aligning product availability with these deeply ingrained cultural cues, brands can capture the latent demand that often goes unseen in modern trade, effectively turning cultural nuances into a competitive advantage at the grassroots level,” Packworks Co-founder and Chief Platform Officer Hubert Yap said. 

Packworks expects a 10% GMV growth and a 4% increase in transactions for this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations, as more Filipinos are buying the same product per transaction, particularly during the festive occasion.

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Business

E-wallet use jumps 75% in sari-sari stores, fueling digital transformation – Packworks report

by Contributor
written by Contributor

MANILA, Philippines — Sari-sari stores are rapidly digitalizing their operations, driven by a significant increase in e-wallet use, according to a new report from Filipino tech startup Packworks.

The report used their internal transaction records as the starting point to conduct a direct survey of more than 2,000 sari-sari store owners within Packworks’ nationwide network of 300,000+ stores from January to August 2025.

According to the data, half of the store owners surveyed reported a 75% increase in e-wallet usage in their store operations between January and August. The remaining respondents also saw substantial growth: 20% experienced a 100% increase in usage, another 20% saw a 50% increase, and 10% reported a 10% rise.

Store owners largely attribute this growing adoption to increased consumer demand, as their customers are also turning to e-wallets to buy goods, access funds, and settle bills at their local stores. 

“Maraming nang nagpapa-cash-in at cash-out at bumibili gamit ang mga e-wallet. Dahil dumarami, gusto namin masabayan ang pangangailangan nila. Nakakatulong din naman ito sa amin para magkaroon kami ng dagdag kita (A lot of our customers are making cash-in and cash-out transactions aside from buying products with e-wallets. Since more customers are using them, we want to keep up with their needs. It also helps us earn a little extra),” said Marijane Rea, a sari-sari store owner from Laguna.

Store owners are using e-wallets for a variety of business operations. About 40% use the platforms for in-store payments, 30% for bill payments, and the remaining 30% for cash-in and cash-out transactions.

This digital shift is quickly becoming a critical source of revenue. Around 13% of store owners say their e-wallet earnings equal their revenue from physical goods. Among the rest of the respondents, e-wallets still contribute significantly: 66% say that about 20% of their revenues come from e-wallet use, and the remaining 21% say their e-wallet earnings account for 10% of their total revenue.

GCash and Maya are the widely used e-wallets, with 85% of store owners reporting using GCash for their business transactions and 15% using Maya.

“Bukod sa kita namin sa tindahan, nagkaroon kami ng dagdag kita sa paggamit sa mga e-wallet kasi meron kaming tubo na PHP 10 hanggang PHP 20 sa pag-cash-in at cash-out, o di kaya tuwing nagbabayad ng kuryente, tubig, o Internet ang mga customer (Besides the income we earn from the store, we also get extra earnings from using e-wallets because we earn a profit of PHP 10 to PHP 20 from cash-in and cash-out transactions, or whenever customers pay for electricity, water, or internet bills),” said Rachel Miguel, a store owner from Bacolod. 

To increase their transaction capacity and meet surging customer demand, sari-sari stores are strategically using up to five e-wallet accounts. According to the report, with each account having a monthly limit of PHP 100,000 to PHP 500,000, the combined monthly transaction capacity is up to PHP 3.5 million.

This trend supports the 30% of store owners’ interest in upgrading their e-wallets to business accounts to maintain a higher monthly limit of PHP 1 million.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas indicated that approximately 57% of total retail transactions were cashless in 2024, highlighting the increasing use of digital payments for everyday purchases and financial transactions.

Packworks Chief Platform Officer Hubert Yap highlights that sari-sari stores are rapidly embracing digital tools such as e-wallets to diversify their services and grow their businesses.

“The surge in e-wallet use proves that sari-sari stores are rapidly evolving into vital digital hubs for their communities. Aside from simply selling ‘tingi’ physical items, they are now diversifying their product range, offering high-margin, value-added financial services and integrating digital tools such as our app to fundamentally improve their operations and function as near-frictionless nano-banks for the neighborhoods they serve. These findings show that sari-sari stores have been at the forefront leading this digital transformation at the grassroots level,” cited Yap, “And there’s an urgent need to support these micro-entrepreneurs with the right fintech to ensure they can fully capitalize on this opportunity, as they often say in sari-stores, a peso saved is a peso earned!” 

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Business

Sari-sari stores bring ‘tingi’ school supplies closer to schools – Packworks study

by Contributor
written by Contributor

MANILA, Philippines — Sari-sari stores are opening and expanding their inventories to offer “tingi,” or small quantities, of school supplies, in response to the start of the new school year.

This is the latest insight from Filipino tech startup Packworks.io, which analyzed over a million monthly sales transactions from its network of over 300,000 sari-sari stores nationwide via its mobile app and business intelligence tool, Sari IQ. 

Packworks’ data reveals that the number of stores near schools, those within the 400-meter radius or approximately 500 steps away, grew by 31% from approximately 71,000 in 2023 to 95,000 last year. As of June 2025, the company has 102,058 partner stores operating near schools, according to its latest data.

From 2023 to 2024, Packworks saw that most sari-sari stores near schools are located in rural regions, specifically in Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) (+77%), CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region) (+70%), Region X (Northern Mindanao) (+55%), Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) (+52%), and Region VI (Western Visayas) (+50%).

Data further suggests that sari-sari stores benefited significantly from their inventory strategies during the school season. In 2023, stores experienced a 30% increase in sales in August, which coincided with the start of the school year on August 29. The trend accelerated in 2024, with stores recording an impressive 130% sales surge in July, ahead of the July 29 start of the school year. For the current school season in 2025, stores generated a 71% sales spike in June, with the school year starting on June 16.

While total sales transactions of school supplies increased by 9% from 2023 to 2024, the overall gross merchandise value (GMV) last year was PHP 1.31 million, a 3% decrease from PHP 1.36 million in 2023.

Packworks chief data officer Andoy Montiel explains that the data points to a trend of more frequent but smaller purchases. 

“Our latest findings show that the country’s ‘tingi’ economy extends beyond household commodities to school supplies as well. The contradiction between the increase in sales transactions and the decrease in the overall GMV between 2023 and 2024 indicates that sari-sari stores, especially those in rural areas, are not just participating in the back-to-school season but strategically adapting to it with a model that works for their communities,” Montiel said.

The accessibility of sari-sari stores’ “tingi” business model becomes particularly vital as educational costs, including supplies, account for more than half of a typical Filipino household’s monthly income, according to a report by WorldRemit.

Regions with the highest GMV margins from 2023 to 2024 were recorded in Region V (Bicol Region) (+381%), Region X (Northern Mindanao) (+256%), Region II (Cagayan Valley) (+120%), Region VI (Western Visayas) (+87%), and Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) (+78%). So far in 2025, stores brought in PHP 795,000 worth of GMV during the first six months of the year alone.

Packworks chief platform officer Hubert Yap highlights the entrepreneurial capabilities of sari-sari stores in responding to seasonal demands and adjusting their inventories in response to various occurrences, including the back-to-school season.

“Our data is a testament to why sari-sari stores are the lifeblood of the Philippine economy. They possess a deep understanding of their communities, enabling them to seize seasonal opportunities. They are not just reacting to demand, but they are strategically positioning themselves and adapting to the needs of their communities, especially with the recent long suspensions of the first weeks of public school due to the torrential rains this season, ensuring neighborhood educators, parents and students have access to what they need, exactly when they need it, just in time for the back to school rush,” Yap said.

Among the school products analyzed, pad paper was the top-selling item in sari-sari stores with a 74% spike in GMV sales between 2023 and 2024, followed by colored pencil (+74%), bond paper (+71%), paper glue (+28%), and correction tape (+23%).

“Our report also serves as a valuable roadmap for brands and education services to realize their hyper-targeted market opportunities in partnering with sari-sari stores to effectively reach local communities,” Yap adds.

For info about Sari IQ and to uncover more seasonal data trends in sari-sari stores, you may visit http://packworks.io/ or Packworks’ Facebook page to learn more.

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Business

Sari-sari stores grapple with rising prices despite declining inflation – Packworks study

by Contributor
written by Contributor

 MANILA, Philippines — Despite the nationwide decline in inflation, prices of various goods continue to rise in sari-sari stores across the Philippines.

New data from Filipino tech startup Packworks, which analyzed more than one million monthly sales transactions from its network of over 300,000 sari-sari stores nationwide through its mobile app and business intelligence tool, Sari IQ, tracked price movements across multiple product categories from 2023 to 2025. The analysis revealed that costs continue to climb despite a general decline in inflation, with some categories experiencing average price increases of at least 11% across various regions nationwide.

Key findings include significant retail price increases across the board for items like baby oil and baby powder. Notably, a 50-milliliter (ml) bottle of Johnson’s regular baby oil increased by 17%, from PHP 42.00 in 2023 to PHP 49.00 in 2025. Meanwhile, a 100-gram pack of Tender Care baby powder rose by 25%, from PHP 40.00 to PHP 50.00. These price hikes were observed in at least five regions: Ilocos Region (Region I), Cagayan Valley (Region II), Central Luzon (Region III), MIMAROPA (Region IV-B), and Bicol Region (Region V).

The study also found that 11 different SKUs within the confectionery and snacks category experienced at least a 13% increase in retail price. For example, the 50-gram pack of Lala Fish Crackers Classic, a popular and usually affordable sari-sari store snack, saw its price surge by 27%, rising from PHP 18.00 in 2023 to PHP 23.00 today. These spikes were recorded in stores based in Regions II and IV-B. Another popular item, the 150-gram pack of Fres candy, recorded a 16% price increase across all its variants, now at PHP 42.00, up from PHP 36.00 two years ago. The candy brand is now more expensive in at least nine regions, including Regions I, II, III, IV-B, V, VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), and VIII (Eastern Visayas).

Packworks Chief Data Officer Andoy Montiel highlights the vulnerability of sari-sari stores, saying even a slight increase in their wholesale purchase price can directly affect end consumer pricing.

“Sari-sari stores are known for their thin profit margins. While they operate as viable businesses, they also serve as extended pantries and community hubs for their neighbors. Even a slight increase in wholesale prices reveals how vulnerable micro-retailers are to cost shifts upstream. This creates a ripple effect, especially in low-income communities where these stores are the primary source of daily essentials,” Montiel said.

The upward price trend stands in contrast to the declining national inflation rate. In 2023, the country’s Year-on-Year (YoY) inflation rate was 6.0%, then significantly dropped to 3.2% the following year. It decreased further to 1.9% from January to May 2025, hitting a low of 1.3%, the lowest since November 2019.

Packworks’ data also looked at the pricing trends with the country’s main staple commodity, rice. A five-kilogram pack of premium rice rose from PHP 235.00 (PHP 47.00/kg) in 2023 to PHP 295.00 (PHP 59.00/kg) in 2024, reflecting a PHP 60 increase. This aligned with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and Department of Agriculture (DA) reports, which cited rice inflation and retail prices ranging from PHP 50 to PHP 58 per kilo during the period.

From January to May 2025, the price slightly dropped by 3.39% to PHP 285.00 (PHP 58.00/kg), following the DA’s imposition of a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on imported rice. However, it remains higher than the national average of PHP 50.54 per kilo for well-milled rice. The data also noted similar price variations in the repacked rice or tingi-tingi bigas bundles that are usually informal SKUs but are frequently sold in sari-sari stores at smaller increments to make purchases more affordable or abot-kaya for its neighborhood customers.

Packworks Chief Executive Officer Bing Tan emphasizes the importance of helping sari-sari stores thrive amidst economic shifts.

“Sari-sari stores are more than just retail outlets, but a lifeline for millions of Filipinos. Our latest analysis reveals gaps between national macroeconomic reports and the grassroots micro-retail reality. These insights can act as early indicators to inform distribution chains and policymakers of where support and aid are most needed. It is our hope that by sharing this timely data, we will be able to shed a brighter light on the challenges in practical pricing our store owners face in serving their communities.” 

Sari-sari stores serve as the primary source of daily essentials for around 94% of Filipinos.

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